


Rotten to the Core - Descendants AU

by shelbyecanwrite



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, this will take a while to get through
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 74,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shelbyecanwrite/pseuds/shelbyecanwrite
Summary: "Opposites are not always contradictions, they can be complementary." - Steven Redhead, Life is a CocktailIn times of crisis, it is often thought that simply separating the aggravating party can be a solution to any kind of problem. That was the thought when the villains of Auradon, plague to royals and villagers alike, were exiled to their own island off the coast; The Isle of the Lost. Things were calm, things were civilized, and Auradon prospered.That is, until the young prince started getting ideas in his head of ending the separation.Marinette had never dreamed of leaving the Isle of the Lost. Her life was filled with running rampant through the crowded streets with her friends, causing mayhem and spray painting whatever free wall was available. But when a chance at escape comes, her father doesn't let her turn it down. This was their chance at breaking the barrier, of once again ruling Auradon with a tight fist through the fear and power they once held. It was Marinette's job to ensure that ultimately happened. But in the end, can she bring herself to see it all through?Updates every Sunday.EDIT (8/29) - Now updating every Sunday and Wednesday!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 86
Kudos: 124





	1. Prologue

_Once upon a time, long, long ago… well, like 20 years ago, a belle married her beast in front of 6,000 of their closest personal friends._

_Instead of a honeymoon, the Beast known as King Gabriel united all the kingdoms and got himself elected King of the United States of Auradon. Whoopie._

_He then rounded up all the villains and sidekicks (basically all the really interesting people) and he booted them off to the Isle of the Lost with a magical barrier to keep them there. This is where I live._

_No magic._

_No WiFi._

_No way out._

_Or so I thought._

_Be patient, more will ultimately be told but first, this happened._

—————

Everything about the United States of Auradon can be described in one word: Perfect.

There were perfectly manicured gardens surrounding perfect castles that had been owned by perfect royal families that went back for generations.

Everyone laughed. Everyone smiled. Everyone’s lives were simply… perfect.

Especially the life of the young man in the largest castle, the heir to Auradon. The young man stood with his arms out, his blonde hair combed back and dressed from head to toe in deep plum with gold accents, tailor made for the Princes big day. Soon, Prince Adrien would take the mantle of King upon himself as he had been destined to from the time he was born. But as he stood straight-backed on a tailor’s platform, getting pulled and pushed as he was fit for a suit and crown, he couldn’t find it in himself to focus on the honor ahead. Instead, he found himself transfixed by the view just outside the castle.

Outside his window, just a hop, skip and boat ride away, sat an island just off the coast of Auradon. It was shrouded constantly in a green-grey mist and, if his parents were to be believed, evil ran rampant on its crowded and decrepit streets.

The Isle of the Lost.

On the Isle, evil had plotted and planned for the last 20 years, out of sight but never out of mind. Villainous minds like Maleficent, Jafar, the Evil Queen and the like had been locked away without their assets or magic to aid in their escape. Adrien, like other citizens in Auradon, believed those who were originally locked away for their heinous crimes deserved to be banished to the island as punishment for what they had done to the peoples of Auradon.

But there were others who had done nothing to deserve their place on the island and were worthy of a second chance. Adrien was in the perfect position to give the blameless their day in the sun and a life off of the Isle.

He had done enough research on the subjects, weeks spent in the stacks of records and finding loop holes in laws just in case he had to defend himself before the high council of families or worse, before his father. He was hoping he had every box checked and every problem accounted for.

It sounded easy in concept, but overcoming the barriers between idea and implementation would be a challenge to say the least. It would all start, and possibly end, with the man and woman who came strolling into his grand bedroom. Adrien tried not to fidget as the tailor pulled his face away from the window to face his parents at the door.

The King and Queen of Auradon were both statuesque in their own right and the embodiment of elegance. King Gabriel was tall and lean, white blonde hair slicked back from his hawkish features. He had intelligent, striking pale blue eyes that peered down a sharp nose to examine his son. He was in a plum colored suit with gold accents, the colors of Auradon, with a crisply pressed white shirt with a plum tie.

At his side was a woman whom Adrien could only ever describe as the embodiment of sunshine. Where his father was all sharp features and cold gaze, Queen Emilie was warm and inviting. Her long blonde hair was plaited down her back and swept over her shoulder, the corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled, full of affection for the young man who stood rigidly as his wingspan was measured by the impatient tailor. She held her husband’s arm, echoing the colors of his clothing in a long gold dress and plum colored earrings and jewelry. Each were adorned with glittering crowns that rested on their noble heads, not unlike the one that would be placed on Adrien’s own head on the day of his coronation in the coming months.

“It’s unfathomable that you’re going to be crowned king.” King Gabriel mused, the smallest smiles tugging at the corners of his lips as he eyed the tailor’s work. “You’re just a child, it feels like.”

At his side, Queen Emilie laughed, the sound light and airy like the chime of a bell. Her lighthearted personality always put both Adrien and Gabriel at ease, especially when they didn’t see eye-to-eye. She squeezed her husband’s forearm gently, a smile on her lovely face, “He’s turning 16, dear.”

Adrien heard his father heave a long sigh out his nose, as if feigning shock. “16, was it? That’s far too young to be crowned king. I didn’t make any good decisions until I was at least… 42 I would say.”

The Queen jokingly tugged at her husbands arm, eyes narrowed as she pretended to pout. “You decided to marry me at 28.”

King Gabriel patted one of the hands that were wrapped around his upper arm, a slightly amused look on his face. For a moment, Adrien could see his own lopsided smile whenever he made a bad joke in his fathers expression, “It was either you or the teapot, my dear.”

Adrien couldn’t help but smile. His parents seemed so happy together, an unlikely couple to say the least given everything about them. Their personalities were polar opposites, one warm, one serious. He was royal, she wasn’t. He was once cursed to be a monster while all she had wanted from life was to get out of her small town. Theirs was a story of overcoming adversity and struggle, and it was one that he wanted to give to those on the Island.

He cleared his throat, drawing them from whatever love sick cloud his parents had found themselves in. He attempted to leave the platform, wanting to really look his parents in the eye as he made his proposal.

“Mother, Father…” He took one step forward, only to be tugged back by the tailor who gave him an irritated click of his tongue. So much for leaving the platform. Adrien straightened his shoulders, grasping one fist in the other hand. “I’ve chosen my first official proclamation.”

The young prince saw his father’s eyebrow quirk up in curiosity, but the king said nothing. The queen’s eyebrows quirked up as well, looking excited at the thought of her son playing into the role that would soon be turned over to him.

“What is it, darling?” His mother prompted. Adrien wanted to answer but the prospect of even mentioning what he had in mind felt like it was a silly notion now as he looked at the two royals who had done the impossible. Overcoming barriers, uniting a kingdom and running it so efficiently and he was going to propose to up root everything they knew. He felt his hands shake where they were clasped as he tried to find his voice. After a few seconds silence, Adrien locked eyes with his mother who nodded for him to continue, looking just as curious as her husband.

“I’ve decided that the children on the Isle of the Lost should be given a chance to live here in Auradon.”

His parents’ faces fell, going from curiosity to shock at the proclamation their only child was bringing before them. At his side, the tailor pricked his finger on a pin with a loud yelp.

“You want to bring the children of our sworn enemies here? To live among us?” King Gabriel hissed, his tone turning cold and making Adrien feel very small. Being pinned beneath his father’s calculating gaze always made his stomach churn. “That’s ludicrous. It will not be done.”

“But Father, every time I look out to the island, I feel like they’ve been abandoned!” Adrien managed to squeak out, determined to stand his ground on his decision. He looked back at the scene that had haunted him since he was a child, waiting just beyond the shore with no way of escape for its inhabitants. “The villains are guilty, yes, but their children are innocent. They deserve a chance to prove themselves of that.”

“They’re villains Adrien,” his father said coldly. Adrien knew his thoughts were clouded by past pain of villagers with pitch forks led by a man with misguided notions of valor. They had all been hurt by someone who was most likely living on the Isle of the Lost at that moment. But transferring that kind of hate onto someone who was probably Adrien’s age or younger? It didn’t sit well with the Prince and he was almost agitated that it did with his parents.

“If you were imprisoned, Father,” Adrien posed, hoping his counter would help them see his position. “And you had me, someone who had committed no crime, wouldn’t you want something better for me? Wouldn’t you think that I deserved the freedom out from under the shadow your behavior cast?”

Adrien shooed the tailor away, stepping off the podium while he was still in shock at his proclamation. He crossed the plush carpet to stand before his parents. He squared his shoulders, chin high to show he wouldn’t back down.

“Wouldn’t you want me to have a chance at changing my fate to something better?” Adrien asked him, his green eyes never leaving his fathers despite how much his gaze made the young man want to curl into himself.

The King seemed to pause in his oncoming tirade, the wheels suddenly turning in his calculating mind. His curiosity apparently piqued, King Gabriel dipped his head to his son, “Have you thought of how you would go about doing this?”

Adrien’s heart soared. It wasn’t a yes, not yet, but it wasn’t a flat and hard no either. It gave him a slight hope that he could manage to actually pull this off. “We would start out with a few at first, only the ones who need our help the most. I’ve already chosen them.”

That same platinum blonde eyebrow quirked upward once again. “Have you?”

Adrien knew how much his father loved to be in control and to not have any say in this would be a lot for him to comprehend. Still, Adrien couldn’t have his father undermine his first proclamation before his reign had even started.

Sensing her husband’s skepticism as well as her son’s determination, Queen Emilie squeezed King Gabriel’s arm again, drawing his attention to the woman at his side.

“I gave you a second chance,” Queen Emilie said simply, her gaze thoughtful as she reflected on the events that led them to that castle with their son. Not waiting for whatever her husband would have as a counter, she turned to her son. “Who are their parents?”

This was the final hurdle and Adrien knew that he could see the light at the end of the tunnel if only he could manage to convince them that all of this was for the good of the kingdom and wouldn’t end in an absolute disaster. But with each name listed, his parents’ expressions slowly fell, turning sour.

“Gaston… The Queen of Hearts… Captain Hook…” He felt himself physically tense as he braced for the final blow, “…and Hades.”

The tailor at his side yelped, dropping his sewing needle and pin cushion as his father let out a fearsome howl.

“Hades!!” King Gabriel snarled, his usually expressionless face suddenly twisted into rage. “He’s the worst of them all! A being of death!”

Adrien let out a contemptuous sigh, already knowing this would be the reaction he was most likely going to get, but refusing to back down. “Father, their children are innocent! Don’t you think they deserve a shot at a normal life?”

There was a cold silence among those in the room. The extended pause made Adrien’s heart beat uncomfortably, fear seeping into him as he finally broke the silence. “Dad?”

The King refused to look his son in the eye, instead turning his hawkish gaze to look at his wife, who merely gazed up at him with spring green eyes not unlike their sons’. Adrien couldn’t fathom what that gaze meant, but it was a beat before King Gabriel closed his eyes and let our another long sigh through his nose, raising his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I suppose… their children are innocent.” King Gabriel lifted his head, drawing himself up to full height, suddenly all business. “As soon as your fitting is done, we can discuss the arrangements that need to be made for this to be made an official proclamation and what measures need to be taken to pick up your… guests.”

He turned to leave, but Emilie pulled herself away from her husband’s arm, quickly making her way over to her son, straightening his lapels before kissing him quickly on the cheek.

“Well done,” she whispered encouragingly in Adrien’s ear. She pulled away, beaming at him as he patted his cheek. Adrien only managed to return the grin before his mother retreated back to her husband’s side.

“Shall we?” She asked cheerfully before half-walking, half-pulling her husband out of the room, leaving Adrien alone with his excitement and a very confused tailor.

Things were finally being set in motion.


	2. Bonus Chapter (1.2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Adrien announces that he's changing the system?

The Auradon dining hall was alive with not only people, but with chatter as more and more students filed in to sit at the long oak tables, everyone looking towards the stage set up at the end of the hall. Whispers and rumors had been flying faster than fairies since the day before, when the lunch announcements called for this mandatory assembly at Prince Adrien’s behest. What could it mean, that the apple of the school’s eye and their future king would be calling an assembly?

Sitting amongst the onlookers was a dark skinned Frenchman with a ukulele in hand, strumming idly at it as his thoughts wandered. Nino knew how to pass the time, his mother loved to keep busy and his father knew how to entertain himself. But as the young prince sat plucking away at his instrument, he couldn’t help but be in the same boat as everyone else. While Nino could claim to be the best friend of the golden child, Prince Adrien, he was for once as in the dark as every jock, geek, and prep gathered in the hall. His bro had gone and called this meeting to order without telling anyone what it was about leaving people with idle gossip and speculation.

The young musician sighed. On any typical day, he’d be sitting in band practice, probably cutting a rift on a borrowed electric guitar. That afternoon however, he was stuck watching the perky Fairy Godmother clip across the stage in kitten heels to a microphone.

“Alright, everyone! Please, quiet down!” All eyes narrowed in on where the lady in blue stood smiling with sparkling white teeth. “Thank you! Students of Auradon Prep, we all know why we are gathered here today, so without further adieu, Prince Adrien!”

She waved her arms towards the side steps where the most photographed young man in Auradon strode across the stage. Girls cried, the tourney players cheered for their captain and the entire crowd over all seemed to fawn over the blonde-haired, green-eyed young man in the purple suit.

He waved and Nino snorted. He had the princely wave down and had since they were five which made all of this so much more entertaining. They often made fun of his television appearances, Adrien often cringing at his ‘Prince Mode’ antics over a bowl of popcorn and large sodas. If Nino had to say anything, his best friend was most definitely in ‘Prince Mode’ now; shoulders back, chin up and that smile that made ladies swoon in a way Nino could never quite get down.

“Good afternoon, friends,” Adriens started. The young man’s eyes scanned the crowd before narrowing in on where Nino sat giving him a thumbs up. His smile seemed to brighten a bit. “As you know, years ago my father, King Gabriel, banished the villains from the land of Auradon to the Isle of the Lost.”

The reaction was immediate as students and teachers alike cheered at the mention of their vanquished foes. The evil may have been a generation removed from the students who sat in the hallowed halls of Auradon Prep, but the scars still ran deep for those whose parents had been victimized by those who now inhabited the foggy island off the coast. Rumors has it that the residents of the Isle had horns and fangs, beastly features and grotesque personalities. Nino could admit to scaring his brother with one or two ghost stories when they were younger about the villainous Dr. Facilier and his Friends on the Other Side, but knew that there was more to that story than just something to frighten his kid brother with.

His parents had been caught up in Dr. Facilier’s plans and machinations, lost friends to it and had been manipulated in more ways than one at the hands of the voodoo doctor. He couldn’t help but be just as relieved that people like him were sealed away from Auradon.

From where he stood at the mic, Adrien waved for the crowd to quiet down. “Hold on, hold on, I’m not quite finished yet.”

The teachers hushed the students down from a roar to where the prince could continue on in his speech. They might have come to regret it once he finished saying his piece.

“I’ve come to realize that the descendants of these villains, who up until now have lived in the shadow of their parents’ wrongdoing, deserve a chance to choose a path of their own.”

A misguided freshman shouted Adrien’s name from the front table only to fall silent as the weight of what the prince suggested came to crash down upon everyone in the dining hall. A rumble of murmurs erupted from the crowd before Adrien dealt the final blow.

“Which is why,” the blonde continued, obviously wanting to get this done with rather than wait for the students to calm down again. “As my first decree, I’ve decided to invite four students from the Isle of the Lost to Auradon Prep this year.”

There was shocked silence following his decree as Adrien fidgeted with the mic stand nervously before all of the underworld seemed to break loose as students cried out in shock and fear.

“Alright, let’s all just calm down,” Fairy Godmother called as she came to stand back behind the mic, shooing Adrien off the side steps as she fought to control the mob he had insighted. Nino didn’t hesitate to rise from his seat towards the back of the hall to meet Adrien mid-escape.

“If I didn’t know any better, mon frère,” Nino said in a low tone as they slipped out into the empty hall leading to the dining hall. The Frenchman stood with his hands on his hips as Adrien paused amongst the portraits of royalty and trophies, his back to his best friend. “I’d say you have a string tuned too tight. Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

“What I’ve done?” Adrien echoed in a small voice before he turned back towards Nino. He was pale and Nino could see that his hands were shaking from the leftover fear of giving that announcement, but his eyes were alive with determination and vigor. He didn’t regret a thing he had just done and Nino knew it.

“I’m hoping I just changed the world.”

———

It wasn’t long after the bombshell assembly when another meeting was being called on the courtyard picnic tables - the court of Princess Chloe.

“Ridiculous!” The blonde cried from where she perched on the table top, her onlookers sitting around her on either the seats or on the grass. Her hair was pulled tightly behind her in a curled updo with an elaborate purple colored grecian sundress that went to her knees. Her ankles were crossed and as she sat with a gold band on her head. She looked every bit the Grecian goddess her grandparents were, but the snarl she wore suggested she was less than a heavenly being. “All of this is utterly ridiculous! What if they can breathe fire? Or turn people into toads? I can’t be turned into a toad, think of my hair!”

“B-but Chloe,” the redhead sitting on the bench beneath her mewed. Chloe’s ‘best friend’ and childhood friend/lackey Sabrina sat fiddling with the short ends of her auburn hair as she looked at her friend with large aqua eyes. “Everyone knows magic is outlawed in Auradon.”

“Don’t be stupid, Sabrina!” Chloe snapped, causing the other girl to curl in on herself. “That’s exactly what they are! Outlaws!”

“What if they’re just like us?” Sabrina offered, always trying to see the good in others just as her mother taught her to, the Fairy Godmother having instilled goodness into her since she was little. “It’s their parents who are the bad ones, right?”

Chloe’s lip curled in disgust as she flipped her ponytail in Sabrina’s direction, a dismissal if anyone had every seen one. “I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes, Sabrina. Their parents are evil, that makes them evil. Duh!”

The other royals nodded and murmured their agreement on the subject as Sabrina’s face turned as red as her hair in embarrassment. Chloe checked her nails, looking down her nose with disdain. “Once a villain, always a villain. Just like losers are losers and winners are winners, Sabrina.”

“Yes, Chloe…”

“You’re totally right, Chloe,” another voice piped up. At the edge of their circle, a girl with a cunning smile and a clipboard in hand waited patiently. She sauntered past boys who sighed in her wake which made Chloe bristle all the more. “A villain can only be a villain, and thus, can’t be allowed amongst their clear superiors.”

“And you are?” Chloe drawled, Sabrina could see how her nails seemed to curl defensively like she was going to lash out if she got any closer.

“Lila, a friend,” the new girl said as she held out her clipboard. “I have a petition here to keep the villain kids out of Auradon Prep, and I was hoping the great Chloe would grace it with her signature.”

Chloe visibly preened under Lila’s compliment. “Well, I guess I could look it over.”

“Can you even petition a royal decree?” Sabrina said curiously as she peered at the petition as Chloe held it.

Lila gave a graceful shrug, looking bored with Sabrina in the same way most people did. “I don’t know. I got a D in Kingdom Civics.”

She leaned closer to Chloe, looking like a devil on her shoulder rather than a royal. “But what I do know is that I don’t want any Villain Kids in Auradon. Wouldn’t you agree, Chloe?”

Chloe snatched the pen from Lila’s hand with a determined flourish.

“Absolutely,” Chloe confirmed before signing her name to the others Lila had gathered. From an onlookers perspective, it could almost look like a death warrant being signed.

———

Amidst the onslaught of rumors and fear that surrounded Prince Adrien’s announcement, there was another new development: the ‘Where in Auradon Should You Live’ quiz.

It was study hour when it came creeping into the life of the Fairy Godmother’s daughter.

“Hey, Sabrina,” Kagami whispered to the redhead from across the library table. They were supposed to be quiet, but what was the harm in whispering when others were doing the same? “You want to take a quiz?”

Sabrina blinked at the lovely Asian girl sitting in front of her. Her almond eyes were coy as she waved her phone in Sabrina’s direction. Sabrina didn’t mind Kagami’s company. She didn’t tolerate stupidity in the same way Chloe didn’t, but at least she had a tendency to not yell at her like the blonde princess did. She was serious and had a flat facade a lot of the time, but at the moment, Kagami looked a bit mischievous and Sabrina couldn’t deny her own curiosity about the quiz.

“Okay…” Sabrina muttered, closing her textbook to wait for her questions.

“Alright,” Kagami whispered as she turned to the quiz questions. “Question 1, hit the slopes, hit the beach, or hit the hay?”

It was a pretty tame question. “Uh, beach I guess?”

“Okay, are you a heart breaker, a trouble maker, or a rule breaker?”

“Oh, can I be all three?”

Kagami looked at her with a raised eyebrow, obviously not buying that the demure girl before her could fall into any of these categories, let alone all three. “Sure… Do what your parents say, or do it your way?”

The redhead considered it for a moment. “Mmmmmmm my way.”

Again, Kagami’s eyebrow quirked up a bit before she moved onto the final question.

“Magic is, A) totally off limits B) kind of lame or C) super sweet, just don’t get caught.”

It was a dangerous question. Magic had been outlawed for a long time, even Sabrina’s mother having hung up her wand to serve the students in an administrative sense instead of as a wish granter. Still, Sabrina couldn’t help herself but admit the truth, even if it was just in the confines of the space between Kagami and her for a silly quiz.

“Um, if I had to be honest….. C, the super sweet one…”

Kagami snorted some, as if she could understand Sabrina’s choice before she hit the result button. It took a moment for the results to load and in the mean time, Sabrina got antsy.

“Ooooo what’d I get?” She crooned excitedly as she wrung her hands, dreaming of far away places and exotic lands. “Agrabah? Olympus? How about a sweet little cottage in Camelot?”

It was then that Kagami’s eyes widened slightly, the closest she ever came to outright shock. Sabrina leaned forward, craning her head to take a look at the phone screen. “What is it? What does it say?”

Kagami pressed her lips together anxiously as she laid her phone flat on the table, a picture of an island staring up at the two girls.

“You’re ideal home is the Isle of the Lost,” Kagami said definitely, as if handing down a verdict.

“What?!” Sabrina shrieked before being shushed by the librarian, a round older man with a handlebar mustache named Mr. Cogsworth. The red head smiled sheepishly as an apology before snatching the phone from Kagami’s hands in a feat of surprising agility. Sabrina paled, her lip quivering as she looked at her results like they were law instead of a silly quiz someone made to freak people just like her out. It was probably rigged to where anyone could get the same result, but Sabrina was shaken.

“The Isle of the Lost? Like a villain kid?” Her eyes went wide as she looked at Kagami. “You’re not going to tell my mom, are you?”

“Only if you don’t give my phone back,” Kagami chided before snatching it back. “Chill, Sabrina. It’s just a stupid quiz.”

From the way Sabrina quickly gathered her belongings and scurried from the library, Kagami wasn’t sure she had believed her.

———

News of the villain kids’ imminent arrival did more than just shake up the social aspect of Auradon Prep. It was starting to reach into the clubs and activities like a slow acting poison, going so far as to come up in tourney roster decisions.

“Wayhem, you’re killing me,” Nino groaned as he pressed his fingers into his eyes to quell the headache that was starting to come on. He knew what he was getting into when he told Adrien he’d help the Sultan’s son go over roster applications, but he didn’t know he’d be so picky. They’d been sitting there for over an hour and so far, Wayhem hadn’t made a solid decision on anyone. He was starting to be glad he quit tourney for band after the first year. “Adrien said we only need one more freshman for the tourney team. Don’t you like any of them?”

In prompt response, Wayhem scribbled his way through two applications without sparing them an actual read through.

“No, no,” he said in a snotty voice before pausing on one. “Wait, who’s this? Bash? As in, ‘bash out opponents’?”

Nino sighed, already knowing which application he had become fixated on. “Dude, no. That’s Bash, as in Bashful. The dwarf’s son? Adrien said he barely had enough courage to step onto the field.”

He knew he was being harsh on a kid he had never met, but when it came to tourney and the bruises that came from it, Nino didn’t think sending a kid with intense social anxiety out onto a field where everyone was watching your every move was a good idea. Wayhem also sighed in defeat before putting an X through Bash’s name. “Pass on Bash.”

Nino leaned his chin into the palm of one hand, pursing his lips as a thought suddenly came to him.

“You think they’re going to make you put villain kids on the team?” Nino asked before adding on jokingly, “Do you think Gaston has a son? That guy was ripped.”

Wayhem didn’t seem to take Nino’s attempt at humor well as he slammed his hands down on the table.

“No villain kids!” Wayhem exclaimed, looking Nino in the eye. “I have to look out for my team!”

“Adrien’s team,” Nino reminded him. Adrien was the team captain after all, and the only reason he wasn’t doing this job was because his proclamation preparations had made him too busy to do it. Wayhem had a hard time differentiating between being a team player and wanting to be the center of attention when it came to things like titles and being captain.

“Whatever,” Wayhem sighed before shoving the rest of the unread applications in Nino’s direction. “You just do it. If I don’t pick up my homework from the cheerleading squad, I’ll have to do it myself.”

The young prince got up and left in a huff, leaving Nino to contemplate whether or not he should put down Bash to spite him or make up a villain kid to sign on to freak Wayhem out. The Frenchman sighed, turning to the applications before him. He knew everyone had their hopes and plans for the coming year, but he also knew that once the Isle kids showed up, the rules were most definitely going to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When writing this, my beta and I wanted to go ahead and add as much content and bonus content as possible in order to fill in some holes in the story or to add to it to make it more complex. Then Alyssa (beta) found a set of videos on YouTube by Disney called School of Secrets for Descendants and we went BONKERS. 
> 
> The next two chapters are called bonus chapters and are based on those videos. We don't cover all the content (some of it wasn't really paramount to moving the story ahead) but if you want an interesting and short watch (the videos are like 2 minutes long each) definitely recommend watching!


	3. Bonus Chapter (1.3)

There are very special gatherings that are undertaken at Auradon Prep, and none is more special than the Tea Party thrown by the princesses every Friday. The Princesses of Auradon and their favorite vassals would gather on the school green with cucumber sandwiches, expensive tea, and gossip galore.

“You know, I don’t really care what Auradon Teen says,” Lila said snidely as she stirred her tea. “Orange definitely isn’t out of style in my book.”

“It looks lovely on you, Lila,” Sabrina added quickly, as eager to please as any other vassal that was invited to the party. They all knew that to make waves meant a loss of invitation to tea, something none of them wanted.

“I know,” Lila crooned as Chloe came stampeding into the conversation, her lips twisted into a frown.

“Chloe, what ever is the matter,” Lila sighed, obviously not paying attention to Chloe’s distress as she took a slow sip of her tea.

“Adrien!” Chloe huffed as she collapsed into her garden chair, swiping a macaron from the cake stray with a pout. “He cancelled Friday! Said he had to work on his decrees or whatever. Like those VK’s are more important than me!”

“Well he is going to be king soon…” Sabrina said meekly in defense of the son and heir.

“That’s not the point, Sabrina,” Lila interjected with a glint in her eye. “He’s spending more time with these villain kids than he is with her.”

She set her tea cup down before demurely smoothing the skirt of her dress, and Sabrina couldn’t help but think she was going to start trouble as Chloe started pouring her own cup of tea.

“You know, the funny thing is that one of these villain kids is also a descendant of an Olympian,” Lila said in a mild tone though her suggestion was like a thunderbolt between them. “Does this mean that she gets to join us for tea as well, Chloe?”

There was the sound of clinking porcelain as Sabrina righted the tea kettle in Chloe’s hands. She had been so engrossed in Lila’s insinuation that she had overfilled her tea cup and caused it to spill over.

“No daughter of that monster will ever grace this table, I can assure you of that, Lila!” Chloe seethed as she twisted her napkin in her hands, her eyes narrowed to ice chips.

“Maybe you should join the Welcoming Committee, Chloe,” Sabrina suggested, quick to change the subject away from certain disgraced Olympians.

“And why would I want to do that?” Chloe said in a snide tone.

“Well, you’d be able to spend more time with Adrien.”

“Hm….” The blonde hummed as the suggestion sunk in. An excited smile spread across her face as she tapped her perfectly manicured nails on the garden table. “And even more time if I take the lead!”

“Brilliant idea, Chloe,” Sabrina fawned over her as Lila rolled her eyes some at the idea. So long as it kept Chloe from caterwauling about her relationship, she supposed it was some solution.

———

Later that day, Sabrina had moved from the princess circle to the intellectual one, sitting in on a mock debate with Kagami and another student named Max. Naturally, the topic was the one everyone couldn’t stop talking about.

“Three rounds,” Max stipulated as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “Should the descendants of villains be allowed in Auradon? Begin.”

Kagami and Sabrina stared at one another, Kagami being the far more confident of the two since she would be the against side of the debate. She even had cue cards in hand while Sabrina was fumbling with her answers. When Max rang the bell, Kagami came out swinging.

“These descendants should absolutely not be allowed in Auradon,” she stated plainly as she read from her cue cards. “Let us not forget, we have had decades of peace and prosperity by keeping them separated on their own island. Now is not the time nor the place.”

Max rang the bell, signaling for Sabrina’s rebuttal to begin. Sadly, her answers weren’t nearly as eloquent as her opponent’s.

“Well, there’s never a good - I mean, couldn’t it be - Keeping them out may not be entirely fair -?”

“Did you know that two out of every three residents of Auradon have been victims of villainous plots?” Kagami asked as Max signaled for her rebuttal. “False Imprisonment, Animal Transformation, Malignant Thorn Bushes, and the list goes on and on.”

“Okay, well, yes, the past was not good,” Sabrina admitted, trying to wrap her mind around a stance that could actual defend their mortal enemies. “In fact it was not… good.. but it was the past which means it’s old, that’s sort of - “

The ringing of the bell cut her off as the final round started.

“Further more, Auradon Prep was founded on the principle that ‘goodness doesn’t get any better’. Better, not badder. They have an entire island to themselves. Do we really need to give them the keys to our kingdom?”

Sabrina let out a sigh of frustration, tired of being pushed around in this conversation. When the bell finally rang for her rebuttal, she came out swinging with a few blows of her own in Kagami’s direction.

“Well, by those lofty standards, someone as close minded as you should not be allowed here in Auradon either!” Sabrina quickly covered her mouth, suddenly embarrassed at her outburst. Max and Kagami looked at her with mild shock, although Kagami looked more impressed than Max did.

“Wow,” Kagami said, setting aside her cue cards with a huffy laugh. “Way to pull it out at the end, Fairy Goddaughter.”

Sabrina curled in on herself as Max and Kagami had a more casual conversation about their incoming students. She wanted to bibidybop herself out of existence right then. She had defended the Isle kids, and while it was only in a mock debate, if her last statement got out to the other royals, she’d be flayed alive.

Besides, she didn’t actually like the villain kids and the fact they were coming… did she?

———

It was three days before the VK’s were supposed to arrive, and Nino once again found himself corralled into another insane job for his best friend. He had managed to be talked into working on the Welcoming Committee at Adrien’s behest and having never been able to say no to him left him sitting in the dining hall painting a welcome banner. However, his attention span had waned after finished up the lettering, and he was sitting watching ridiculous jousting videos on SpellTube.

He was in the middle of watching some guy get dragged behind his horse by the reins when the living embodiment of a hurricane came blowing in his general direction reeking of perfume.

“Nino,” Chloe said, looking down her nose at him with that same air of disgust she always had when looking at him. He knew she didn’t think he was a good match for Adrien when it came to being his best friend, but the same could be said about how Nino thought about her. How someone like Adrien, the best human Nino had ever met, could fall for someone who seemed to hate everyone she ever interacted with, was beyond his comprehension.

“What do you want, Chloe,” Nino responded without looking up from his phone.

“Let’s talk Welcoming Committee,” she said, only to flush irritably when Nino started laughing.

“You?” He wheezed between laughs. “On the Welcoming Committee? Since when?”

“Adrikins has a lot on his plate,” Chloe said with an air of importance, “and being the generous person I am, I thought that I would help him out, what with the new kids arriving so soon.”

“How unlike you,” Nino droned as Chloe continued.

“Which means we have somethings to address,” she drawled as she produced a notepadfrom her bag, bedazzled in purple and gold. She tossed it to Nino, who readily caught it so as to not get hit in the face.

“Here’s a list of things that need to happen; and I do mean need, Nino, not want,” Chloe clarified as Nino started going through the maniacal list she had compiled.

“‘Budget classy limo,’” Nino read. “What in Auradon is a ‘budget classy limo’?”

“Well, we need a limo to bring them here, don’t we?” Chloe retorted with her hands on her hips. “Something classy but not extravagant; thus, budget classy.”

“‘Non-gross snacks’?”

“Someone suggested frogs and newts for their car snacks,” Chloe explained. “But I refuse to let any grubby little slime covered creature anywhere near me and my clothes.”

“No amphibians then…” Nino muttered while Chloe plowed on.

“Adrian wants their arrival to be a big deal, so we’ll need the marching band there-“

“I had already planned on that, Chloe-“ Nino started, only to be interrupted once again.

“And, of course, someone will need to show them the grounds, the dorms, get their class schedules worked out, and make sure they don’t burn the place down as soon as they arrive.”

“I’m pretty sure Adrien will want to do all of that, Chloe,” Nino told her as the princess’s lips formed a tight line at the fact that he would address her directly. “They are his guests after all.”

“He doesn’t have time to rub elbows with those riffraff!” Chloe exclaimed in disgust. “Future kings don’t do things like give tours. That’s something someone lower on the totem pole should do.”

She turned her blue gaze on him with a smug look. “Someone like you, I should think, Nino. You are the best candidate after all. You good with that?”

Nino knew she was getting a jab in. Once the peoples of Auradon had come together under King Gabriel, most of the supposed prince and princesses of the school had been downgraded to just lower nobles and lords of the realm with their own territories and jurisdiction. Still, for Chloe to think that she was still above him because he no longer had a shot at being a king like Adrien made his blood boil. If his mother were there, she’d say to keep his mouth shut, but seeing as his mother wasn’t there…

“Listen, Princess, if it were Adrien asking I would be tempted, but seeing how it’s you -“ Nino started only to be cut off once again by Chloe’s indomitable will.

“Stick to that list and we’ll be fine,” Chloe mused. “Let me know when it’s done.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t think-“

“Now I just need to decide what I should be wearing when Adrien asks me to the coronation ball,” Chloe sighed, lost in thought about the upcoming ceremony. “As if he’d ask anyone else.”

She sauntered away after that, leaving Nino with her list of demands and feeling like he wanted to just throw it in the trash can by the time she was out of sight. He was just about to when he remembered how stressed Adrien really was. Chloe had been right about that at least. The young Prince had to square away details for the VK’s, go to tourney practice and do his school work on top of doing fittings and rehearsals for his upcoming coronation. If taking this off of his plate would make his best friend sleep a bit better, he’d do it. Though he became convinced if the VK’s didn’t overthrow Auradon and kill them all, Chloe’s list most certainly would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last Bonus Chapter and then we get on to the meat of the story - Meeting our VK's! But here's a closer look at the Auradon Kids and their reactions to the coming storm, as I'm hoping you are. 
> 
> I just finished the last chapter of this story so expect an updated schedule - I may start posting twice a week with the second update either happening on Wednesday or Thursday depending on how I'm feeling. EITHER WAY, expect things to pick up fast so HERE WE GO.


	4. Chapter 2

Her lungs were burning as she fervently tried to gulp down enough gray air to keep the her going.

In one hand she held a pipe, and in the other a can of electric blue spray paint the color of the tips of her hair as it flew behind her.

There was the thundering sound of many footsteps steadily falling behind as the mob that came after the young woman and her friends slowly got lost in the menagerie of market stalls and ramshackle buildings that were too crowded together.

To her left, there was a loud cackle followed by something bellowed in pirate slang that the young woman couldn’t make out.

On her right, there was a crash as a market stand got knocked over before a shriek. Not long after were two giddy laughs, one boisterous, the other not.

It wouldn’t be long before she and her three companions were out of sight of the mob that they had insighted, disappearing amongst the crumbling and mismatched warehouse structures that they called home.

Just another day in the neighborhood.

“Mari!” A young woman called from a few strides behind her. “I think we lost the land lovers!”

The first young woman, Marinette, slowed to a stop amongst the colorful structures draped with haphazard clotheslines and boarded-over windows. Graffiti covered most of the walls, almost all of it hers and Nathaniel’s work, as broken fire escapes led up to a gray and thankless sky. She took a deep breath, one hand pressed into the stitch in her side that she had developed in their escape. She felt her cheeks strain from the smile that was stuck on her face.

“I’d say that was a good use of an afternoon. Wouldn’t you guys?” Marinette asked, popping her spine as she pressed her hands into her lower back.

To her left, a young woman with warm copper hair that lightened to a fiery red came to a stop in her jog, her wine-colored feathered pirate hat barely staying on her head. She was grinning, her hazel eyes alight with mischief as she jutted out her chin in defiance to the world they lived in. Little gold anchors and fish hooks hung from her ears and were echoed throughout the buttons and jewelry she wore as well as the skull and crossbones that hung at her neck. She was a tall and broad girl, wearing mid calf boots, ripped wine-colored pants that were partially covered by a loose white tunic and a black waist coat. Her overcoat was dark red, reaching her knees. the sleeves going down to her elbows. Sheathed at her waist was a rapier and a nasty looking hook. She tipped her head back, gold rings winking in the sunlight.

“I’d say so,” Alya crooned, a Cheshire grin still on her face like she couldn’t wait to do it all again. “It was pretty fun, too.”

“You think that was fun?” A voice asked incredulously as the girls’ two other companions finally caught up. Swinging down from the sloped metal roof ledge, a thin, red-headed figure stood pouting as he dabbed at his shirt. “One of those villagers got tea on my shirt! Mother will be livid.”

Marinette wouldn’t doubt it. If there was one thing that Nathaniel’s mother couldn’t handle, it was disorder and tea party stains. The young man furiously rubbed at an imaginary spot on his shirt with a handkerchief she was sure he had pocketed from some oblivious soul. The rest of him looked spotless as always - his golden boots, yellow and midnight blue pants with a red and gold heart belt buckle. He wore a high collared white button down with heart-shaped chain collar pins. His suit jacket was half-red, half-midnight blue with more golden heart buttons. He was never seen without black fingerless gloves with hearts on the backs, a heart-shaped satchel to hold his art supplies, and a small gold crown that rested in the top of his red hair like the false prince he was.

Another figure slid down the metal roof to land with a thump beside Nathaniel, causing the young man to jump back with a yelp. “Kim! Don’t do that!”

The other young man in their party threw his head back and cackled like a hyena, long and loud to the gray skies. “You’re such a scaredy cat, Nath!”

Kim was the exact opposite of Nathaniel in every way and form. Where Nathaniel was thin and almost elegant in appearance, Kim was broad and all muscle. He made a point of leaving his arms exposed from the red leather vest he wore over a yellow windbreaker, its fabric tarnished from dirt and wear. His gold colored fingerless gloves were speckled with dirt and oil from climbing all over the Isle’s warehouses and rooftops, his brown pants ripped and patched, the bottoms tucked into heavy brown work boots. He had two flintlock holsters on either thigh connected to his waist - whether he had guns with him or not. He shoved Nathaniel in his shoulder with a grin as the other young man stumbled some, hissing as he rubbed the contact point. Kim quickly closed in on Marinette with a grin, waving wildly with his hands at the young woman expectantly. “Well? Did ya get it?”

Marinette smiled deviously as she produced a small rattle from the coat of her pocket that was shaped like the head of a teddy bear. She rattled it in satisfaction, “Oh ye of little faith.”

Kim let out a wild crow to the sky, Alya laughing as Nathaniel managed a sneaky grin.

“Let’s do it again. C’mon it’s so much fun to see them panic,” Alya sneered as she nudged at Marinette’s arm.

“Alright, alright, we can do one more,” Marinette conceded without any push back, her three companions laughing raucously at the idea of causing more mayhem throughout the forever dismal streets of the Island. Better than being depressed like everyone else.

The clouds turned dark overhead as a voice seemed to croon from the heavens, causing Marinette’s blood to run cold in spite of its familiarity. “Not so fast, little marionette.”

Her typically fearless friends seemed to retreat some, knowing full well what was to happen as the ground started to tremor just behind Marinette in the alleyway, the cries of frightened villagers in the distance drowned out by the sound of it breaking open. The alley way buckled and broke apart suddenly, opening up into a yawning chasm that spit out four very interesting creatures.

Three were women with deathly pale skin, their hands and feet black and clawed, shackles clasped over their ankles and wrists like they were jewelry. Greasy black hair dripped down their backs and faces, only managing to cover half of their sunken eye sockets, snarling mouths and hungry yellow eyes. They were dressed in loose black formless dresses with large leathery black wings protruding from their backs.

Among them was a much more human, yet all together more terrifying man. He was dressed in a long black trench coat with a tall collar and silver accents, the edges of it embroidered with blue thread to form flames that seemed to forever lick at his heels. Beneath his coat he was wearing black dress pants, dress shoes, and a waistcoat over a blue dress shirt. Pinned to his black tie was a black skull broach that matched the twin silver skull rings that he wore on either of his skeletal pointer fingers. Everything about this man was sharp and angular, with his pointed and romanesque nose, long face and sharp cheek bones. His eyes were sunken in and the color of brimstone, burning into the minds of whoever looked into them. Of all this however, his most striking feature was his crop of fiery blue hair that erupted from his widow’s peak and seemed to defy gravity, glowing eerily against his gray skin.

This was the face that many saw after they died. This was the face that Marinette saw every day after she woke up.

“Hi, Papa,” she said nonchalantly, confronting death as one might talk to an old friend, not the immortal that stood before her. It helped that the immortal in question brought her into the world.

Hades shook his head in mock disappointment, walking towards his daughter and her prize as the Furies spread out behind her friends. “Stealing a rattle, my little marionette? I’m so disappointed.”

Marinette held it out towards him as if it were a valuable treasure rather than a useless trinket. “It was from a baby.”

There was a beat’s pause before Hades’ pout turned into a cunning sneer, plucking the rattle from his daughter’s hand with an air of pride in his voice as he congratulated her. “That’s my nasty little girl.”

The older man then held the teddy bear rattle’s head between his two fingers, melting its plastic head into a warped and charred horror before it disappeared in a puff of black smoke. He grinned down at his now pouting daughter. “And back to the dreadful creature it goes!”

“Papa!” Marinette whined some before she was cut off by the wave of her father’s gray hand.

“It’s the details, Marinette, that make the difference between mean,” he gestured to her before gesturing back to himself, “and truly evil. When I was your age I was causing chaos and unleashing titans!”

He pointed at his daughter, the silver skull ring winking at her. “You. Walk with me.”

Marinette slowly moved into the crook of her father’s arm, one of his hands resting between the young woman’s shoulder blades as he leaned forward to speak to her out of listening range of her friends. “See, I’m just trying to teach you the thing that really counts, sweetheart…” He paused, waving his hand across the air in front of them to emphasize his statement. “How to be me.”

Marinette swallowed the shame that bubbled up in her throat, feeling as if she had somehow disappointed her father despite truly trying her hardest to be as chaotic as he wanted her to be. She looked at him with a small and determined nod. “I know that. I’ll do better.”

Hades gave a small nod before his face broke out into a sharp-edged grin, pulling away from his daughter to address everyone gathered in their alleyway stage ground. “There’s news! I buried the lead.”

He pointed at each of the young men and women gathered before him with a mad glint in his eye, the excitement unable to be hidden from his voice as he addressed them. “You four have been chosen to go to a different school… in Auradon.”

The reaction was instantaneous. Nathaniel, Alya and Kim turned in an attempt to flee from their fates only to be corralled and held in place by the ever patient Furies Hades had come prepared with. Marinette looked at her father in shock, her voice going up in pitch at the bomb he had just dropped. “What? I am NOT going to some boarding school filled to the brim with… prissy pink princesses!”

“And perfect treasure chests,” Alya murmured excitedly before she wilted beneath Marinette’s disbelieving glare. “Ugh! Awful.”

Kim shrugged off the black claws of the Fury that held him, looking at Hades with a defiant look as he waved his hands in an x motion before him. “Yeah, and I don’t do uniforms.”

He grinned as he elbowed at Nathaniel who had gone somehow even paler with fright. “Unless it’s leather, you feel me?”

Nathaniel shrugged off Kim’s elbow, timidly stepping closer to Hades, turquoise eyes darting around the alleyway nervously. “I read somewhere that they allow cats in Auradon. Mother says that they’re vicious hunters who attack boys who don’t behave!”

Behind him, Kim pushed him, howling suddenly and causing Nathaniel to yelp before smacking the taller boy in the arm.

Marinette turned from her friends to square off against her father once again, shaking her head in disbelief. “Yeah, Papa, we’re not going! Forget it.”

“Oh, you’re always thinking small, my little marionette.” He tapped his daughter on the tip of her nose before crooning to her in a soft voice. “It’s all about world domination.”

He straightened his back, waving to his Furies who obediently hobbled after their master back down the alleyway, walking around the gaping hole that their entrance had left in the ground.

Marinette looked at her friends skeptically, only to be beckoned by the same singsong tone from her father farther down the alley. “Marinette!”

The young men and women shared concerned glances, but there was no disobeying or escaping a being of death like Hades. Walking shoulder to shoulder into the unknown, the four young people followed after the retreating black-clad figure.

—————

As far as homes went, it was only natural that the most powerful and ruthless lay claim to only the nicest of abodes, far from the commoners and with far better indoor plumbing.

Standing in stark contrast to the worn down warehouses and patchwork shacks was a stone fortress whose towers pierced the sky high above the neighborhood, overshadowing everything around it like a domineering guard. From its balconies and highest towers, one could see the glowing and thriving silhouette of Auradon against the sea fog, mocking and enticing all the same. This was where the most powerful of villains and their families called home.

During the first days of their exile, the banished quarreled and fought over the right to live there by themselves, each wanting to make this fortress their castle and have a ruling title to match it. Battles were won, many were lost, and after succumbing to both their fate as an exiled people and the pointlessness over destroying themselves further, they all moved in, each claiming a hall or tower floor to themselves. Marinette knew her father had been furious about the decision, wanting to rule rather than to live as equals in their small apartment, but the young woman couldn’t find it in herself to agree with him. She would always prefer the cackle of laugher, dinner parties and the thunder of many footsteps down the hall to the quiet padding of her own small feet in the large empty spaces. It was in one of these large open rooms that her friends, their parents, and her father gathered to plan and plot on that same gray afternoon.

Their war room was at one point in time called a ‘drawing room’ according to Nathaniel’s mother, though she said no one actually did any drawing in there.

(Well, not really said but shrieked when she found Marinette and Nathaniel drawing on the crown molding and walls when they were little.)

Whatever prestige it was meant to have, it was lost on the inhabitants of the fortress. Pillows, whole and torn alike, littered the floor and mismatched chairs while the paintings on the wall were torn in their frames. The grand chandelier had had most of its crystals stolen, the mirrors were fractured or smashed and every clock face was destroyed, their metal gears and innards littered about on the floor. Old fashioned, wall-mounted lamps hung on the walls, turned off for the moment as natural light flooded in from the open balcony and uncovered windows.

By the time Hades and the children arrived, the parents of Marinette’s friends were already comfortable in their seats and apparently playing a game of cards - a past time that never ended well as to which the tortured pillows could attest.

In one seat, the only woman of the older generation gathered squealed gleefully. “Ha! Read ‘em and weep boys! I’ve got a Royal Flush!”

The woman in question couldn’t have been more unlike her son, matching him only in their vibrant colored hair. Hers was bright red and pulled back into a tight knot at the top of her head with a red ribbon. Where Nathaniel was thin and graceful like a swan, his mother was round, loud and lumbering, her temper often getting the better of her in even the smallest of arguments. Her son’s wardrobe tended to mirror hers - what was dark blue on one side was red on the other, what was yellow was dark blue and everything had to have hearts on it. Whether it was the bodice of her dress, the buckles on her short heels or the red, heart-shaped fan she always carried, the Queen of Hearts could never be seen without her signature symbol.

As she spread her winning hand out on the coffee table between them, her opponents threw their cards in an act of typical unsportsmanship. One man leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest as he slouched and pouted. His signature black handle bar mustache twitched in disgust. “It isn’t fair! You always win!”

Marinette tried not to roll her eyes at his complaining - his daughter Alya tended to act the same whenever she thought Marinette had won one too many times; though she tended not to stab cards through with a hook as frequently as Captain James Hook did.

With his hooked hand curled around his forearm, Captain Hook eyed the Queen of Hearts, looking far less dapper than she did. His skin was tan and wrinkled around his eyes from too many days spent out at sea, his dark hair long and unruly like Alya’s. His long coat and pirate’s hat were hung up somewhere out of sight, his cravat long gone. Today, he wore a loose blood-colored poet blouse tucked into black trousers, his gold-embroidered boots a little worse for wear from what Marinette could see as they were propped up on the table. He too had acquired some layer of Isle grime over the years like Hades had. How the Queen of Hearts avoided it was beyond Marinette.

Across from either of them and looking equal parts confused and irritated was the one time war hero and notorious hunter Gaston. He threw his cards away in disgust as well. “I don’t know why I play cards with you people! I never seem to win!”

Yes, the need to win was a common thread between Gaston and his son Kim who was the sorest loser Marinette had ever met. They both had olive skin and thick black hair, but while Kim’s was short and tipped with blonde, Gaston’s was long and pulled back into a ponytail. He spent most of his time hunting vermin or beasts around the island, and his appearance reflected that. His boots were caked with mud, his brown pants scuffed and ripped. His military overcoat covered a long red tunic that was belted at his hips, both also in worn condition, along with his mustard-colored gloves. The only thing he kept in truly good condition was his rifle, which was mud and grime free and always lashed across his back anytime Marinette saw him. He once told her it was in case he ran into any particularly nasty rats. Marinette, too young and naive at the time, had told him that was a waste of a bullet.

Her father had laughed. Gaston had not.

The old soldier threw up his hands with a snarl. “All of this is pointless! Why don’t we do something fun and arm wrestle instead?”

The Queen of Hearts made a sharp sound of disgust, holding her fan over her heart. “How vulgar.”

Captain Hook, however, gave Gaston a sly grin, sitting up straight from where he had slouched. “I’ll play your game, Gaston.”

“Really?” Gaston asked, sounding just as skeptical as Marinette felt at the idea.

“Sure…” the pirate said before his hooked hand lashed out, the tip centimeters away from the tip of Gaston’s nose. He tilted the silvered surface in the light, the glint flashing in Gaston’s eye. “If you’re willing to risk it.”

Tension was threatening to break into a brawl when Hades clapped his hands, the villains jumping slightly at the sight of Hades and their children. The Queen of Hearts tried to act demure, hiding her round face behind her fan, as Captain Hook drew himself up to his full regal stature, feet placed back on the floor instead of on the table. Gaston merely leaned back with a mild pout at not getting the fight he had been itching for.

Hades nodded at each of them before making his way to his favorite seat, a tall-backed onyx throne-like chair by the balcony entrance, the perfect view of the scrambling masses below and of Auradon across the bay. While her friends took their seats beside their parents, Marinette came to stand at her father’s shoulder, her typical place during meetings like this. All was still and silent until Hades decided to speak again.

“You, my little marionette,” he mused, eyes fixed on the pedestrians moving about like ants below on the pavement. “Will go to Auradon. You will find Fairy Godmother and you will bring back the magic wand. Easy peasy.”

“What’s in it for us?” Marinette dared to ask, ignoring how the other adults seemed to cringe at her lack of respect. Hades, however, took it in stride, with a smug smile pulling at the corners of his twisted mouth as he tapped his fingers together.

“Matching thrones. His-and-hers crowns.” The immortal mused before Alya spoke up.

“I think she meant us,” Alya asserted, gesturing to herself, Nathaniel and Kim. “You know, the other people having to go to Auradon as well?”

Hades spared the young pirate a bored glance before tilting Marinette’s face back towards his own, his yellow gaze boring into her. “It’s all about you and me, baby. Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer.”

Marinette let out a contemptuous snort. “Well, yeah. I mean, who doesn’t…”

Hades splayed his fingers out on his chest with an evil look in his eye. “Well, then get me the wand and you and I can see all that and so much more.”

The immortal jumped to his feet in a fit of passion, his fiery hair jumping to be a foot higher than before and licking down his neck. “And with that wand, and my power, I will be able to bend both good and evil to my will!”

“Our will,” Captain Hook corrected in a flat tone.

“Semantics,” Hades replied before snapping his fingers to draw Marinette’s attention back to him. “And if you refuse, you’re grounded from now until your afterlife, missy.”

“What!” Marinette shouted in indignation, fists curled at her side. “But Papa-!”

“Zip!” Hades interrupted, silencing his daughter with a hand motion before meeting her gaze, his sickly yellow eyes connecting with her electric blue. Marinette tried to steel herself against her father’s onslaught, his thoughts invading her own as he forced his domineering will upon her: _Be quiet. Fall back in line. Be a good little marionette doll._

No matter how often they did this, their silent battle of wills, Marinette still never managed to overwhelm her father’s more dominant personality. She broke eye contact first, a sign of defeat as her expression soured.

“Fine. Whatever,” She admitted bitterly as Hades turned smug once again with a quiet, “I win.”

The Captain pat his daughter on the arm with a knowing smile, exposing his crooked teeth. “Alya, my pirate queen, you just go and find someone naive over there on Auradon.”

“With a fortune and a ship, I’m assuming?” Alya asked with a conniving grin across her face.

“Naturally!” The Captain exclaimed before he and his daughter dissolved into a series of cackles and snorting.

“Oh, well, they’re not taking my Nathaniel! I’d miss him too much!” The Queen of Hearts said with a wave of her fan, her son’s head snapping toward her with a look of awe on his face.

“Really, Mother?” He asked in a somewhat hopeful tone. “You mean it?”

“Of course!” The Queen said, and Marinette watched Nathaniel’s hopes rise and fall in the span of a single breath. “Who would touch up my roots, press my gowns and rub my feet?”

Nathaniel’s face fell, looking dejectedly at his mother’s feet as they reclined under the table, stuffed into too tiny heels. “Yeah, maybe a new school wouldn’t be the worst idea.”

Quick to recover, The Queen nudged Nathaniel’s arm with her heart-shaped fan. “But Nathaniel, they have hedgehogs. flamingoes, rabbits and all matters of disgusting creatures in Auradon.”

At the mention of his greatest fear, Nathaniel shook his head vigorously, nearly sending his crown toppling off of his hair. “Oh, no, I’m not going!”

Hades rolled his eyes as Gaston voiced his opinion as well. “Well, Kim isn’t going either! Someone has to polish my trophies and make sure the moose head gets brushed. Do I look like I know how to do that?”

“Well, since you’re asking-“ Hook started, only to have Hades cut them off all together.

“What is wrong with you all?” Hades roared in exasperation. He took to pacing before the balcony doors with a huff. “People used to cower at the mention of our names! For 20 years I have searched for a way out of these awful slums and this overcrowded island! For 20 years, they have robbed us of our revenge…”

He turned abruptly on his heel, a skull-ringed finger pointed at Captain Hook. “Revenge on Peter Pan and his obnoxious Lost Boys.”

Captain Hook hissed, crossing his arms as Alya rubbed her father’s shoulder. Hades spun on Gaston.

“Revenge on that Beast for stealing your Emilie.” At the mention of the Beast, Gaston spat on the floor, Kim copying his father out of sheer habit. Finally Hades turned on the Queen of Hearts.

“Revenge on that horrible little girl, Alice.” The Queen’s face turned red with rage as she swung her fan like it was a sword, sweeping her cards off the table in a flurry of hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades.

“I should have cleaved her in two!” The Queen snarled, Nathaniel struggling to reign in his mother. “Mother, mother, your blood pressure!”

Hades turned to the balcony again, her craning towards the gray sky with a vengeful look in his gaze. “And I, Hades… the most cunning and villainous of them all… I will finally have my revenge on that Wonder Boy Hercules and my horrendously arrogant brother Zeus.”

He grinned manically at the villains ad their children, his flaming hair whipping about madly like it had a mind of its own. “Villains!”

“Yes?” They answered in chorus, Gaston’s answer muffled by the cookie he was chewing on.

“Our day has come.” He snapped at Hook as he started searching the drawing room. “Hook, give the girl the stupid compass.”

“Yeah yeah, keep your hair on,” Hook muttered as he fished through the pockets of his trousers before pulling out a beat up looking compass that was connected to a chain. Alya eyed the golden object with a skeptical eye. “You never told me that you had something like this.”

“Because I didn’t want you to steal it,” Hook said before holding it out to his daughter. “Ask this compass for the magic wand or for wherever you want to go and the needle will point the way.”

Alya snorted, fingers tapping away at the glass over the compass needle. “Sounds like a load of codswallop.”

“Most things are, my dear but, don’t doubt the compass,” Hook corrected with a serious tone, his eyes fixated on the compass needle as it sat motionless under its glass dome. “It’s led me on many an adventure, to and from Neverland. I was hoping it would one day take me there again, but for now it will help you find things.”

“Like a treasure chest?” Alya said in a lighter tone, clearly trying to pull her father out from whatever mood that he had slid into.

“Like my dignity.” Hook groaned in a sardonic tone before Hades spoke up from across the drawing room, crouching near an old beat-up looking armoire.

“Like the magic wand!” Hades stood up, fuming as he stood there with his hands on his hips. “Where is that blasted book!”

“I think it’s still propping up the TV stand,” The Queen of Hearts mused as she righted Nathaniel’s crown. “Still there from where you gave up on it 15 years ago.”

Hades scoffed and stalked his way over to the TV stand, crouching down to examine its rickety legs.

“Ha!” He exclaimed before pulling out a thin booklet, leaving the TV stand lopsided as he retrieved his missing item. He flipped through its pages hungrily, eyes flitting over whatever knowledge the booklet held. He motioned for Marinette to join him as he held out the journal for her to examine. It was thin, written with curled and neat handwriting that definitely didn’t belong to her father. The leather bound cover had the embroidered image of a glowing sun overlaid by a wand.

“I won this journal in a bet years ago from Circe,” Hades explained, fingers floating over the curled writing and incantations. “It’s her personal spell book, and while it doesn’t work here, it will work in Auradon.”

He almost turned thoughtful, or as thoughtful as his twisted expressions could manage, as he turned towards the other adults in the room, eyes never leaving the spells in the journal. “Remember? When we were free to spread evil and ruin lives?”

Hook let out a wistful sigh, looking out the balcony to the sea beyond. “Like it was yesterday.”

Hades turned to his daughter and held out the journal to her, “And now you’ll be making your own memories.” Marinette hesitantly reached out to take the journal from her father’s hand, only to have it pulled out of reach. She looked to her father to see that his expression had turned serious. “By doing exactly as I tell you.”

There was a long honk down from below, the people in the streets suddenly coming alive with sound and exclamation. Hades rushed to the balcony, Marinette hot on his heels as they looked over edge to see a long black limousine with the Auradon seal emblazoned on its hood parked in front of their fortress.

“Time to get this show on the road,” Hades sneered, stepping away from the balcony edge to head back into the drawing room.

“What!” Marinette exclaimed, spinning on her father. “But I’m not packed yet!”

“No need to worry about that, I had the Furies pack your clothes and belongings before we came to fetch you,” Her father explained, holding out the journal for his daughter to take.

Marinette tried not to pout at what the state of her things would be in now. “Great, everything’s going to be covered in claw marks then?”

“They build character, my little marionette.” He crooned, tapping the end of her nose.

Inside, her friends and their parents were scrambling.

“Nathaniel! You’re not leaving! Get back here!” The Queen of Hearts screeched as she chased her son out the door and down the hall to their apartment in the fortress.

“Watch out for crocodiles and clocks, my dear,” Hook warned his daughter, a fearful look in his eye as he rubbed the curve of his hook with his good hand. “They’re tricky and very hungry.”

Alya patted her father on the shoulder as she got up to go gather her things. “I will, Dad, don’t worry. I’ll be sure to steal you something nice while I’m gone.”

“Good, I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Gaston clasped Kim on the shoulder and looked him squarely in the eye, finger pointed at his son’s chest. “Now, what do I always tell you?”

“There’s no team in ‘I’.” Kim said proudly as Gaston clapped him on the back with a broad hand and a loud laugh. “That’s my boy!”

By the time her friends had gone off to their various floors and towers, Marinette was left standing alone with her father, a spell book, and her thoughts as she stood at the balcony stone railing. Across the slums, neighborhoods, and wide expanse of churning water in the bay, Auradon sat like a beacon of hope, its inhabitants completely unaware of what was transpiring on the island of their enemies. Marinette studied the familiar landscape, the docked boats, the glittering neighborhoods and castle that sat at the zenith of a rolling hill like a page from a picture book. She knew this landscape, it was burned into her mind from years spent staring out over the waters from this very balcony. There were even times when she was convinced someone there was staring back at her, studying the Isle like she studied Auradon. Soon she would be on their streets, weighed down by the mission she had had thrusted upon her.

As if sensing her thoughts, her father came up behind her, a skeletal hand grasping at her shoulder that felt more like a vice than a show of fatherly affection.

“The future of the free world rests on your shoulders, little marionette.” Hades told her plainly before his voice turned cold, chilling Marinette’s blood despite the flames that licked the air above her father’s head. “Don’t blow it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey look it's a new chapter! This time with the KIDS THEMSELVES.   
> I'm so excited about this, we're finally getting somewhere guys. I hope you like the direction we're going as much as me and my beta do.   
> We're up to two chapters left to edit and then we'll be posting TWICE a week! WHOOP.   
> For now, run wild with us on the streets of the Isle!


	5. Chapter 3

By the time that Marinette, her friends, and their parents had gotten all of their things together and packed, the crowd around the spotless limousine was thick with curious gazes. Marinette gave it two minutes before the hubcaps were gone and the hood ornament was stolen.

Now back in his hat and long coat, Captain Hook stood at full height, watching as his daughter threw her rucksack into the trunk of the limousine before sliding into the back. His nose scrunched up causing his mustache to twitch. “Smells like common folk and muck out here.”

Gaston took in a deep breath as Kim barreled out of the fortress and into the back of the car, “I think it smells fine.”

“Shows how inbred you are Gaston.” Hook murmured as Nathaniel ran hurriedly out of the fortress and into the limousine with a panicked look on his face. From behind him came the signature sound of heels on stone as the Queen of Hearts howled after her son.

“Nathaniel, come back here, now!” She howled like a banshee, hitting the back door of the car with her fan as the door closed and locked behind Nathaniel. She seethed, eyes narrowing in on the tinted window. “Ingrate.”

Marinette was the last to come out, duffel bags and backpack in tow and hastily thrown into the trunk before she made her way to the back of the limousine. She paused, hand on the open door before turning her gaze back up to the drawing room balcony. While the Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook and Gaston had come to see their children off, Hades remained inside, looking down at them from above like a king surveying his subjects. When their eyes met, Hades smiled, mouth full of yellowed teeth as he pointed from his eyes to hers. The message was clear: He’d be watching her so she better not fail.

With the smallest nod to her father as a goodbye, Marinette climbed into the back of the limousine with the rest of her friends.

The interior was plush; by far the most extravagant of anything Marinette had ever ridden in. There was a mini bar filled with candy and soda which Kim, Alya and Nathaniel had already started digging into as Marinette found her seat beside Alya, sitting just below the privacy window that led to the drivers and passengers seats.

As her friends gorged themselves on fancy sweets, Marinette couldn’t find the stomach to join them. They were leaving home for a place that wanted them dead and where they would ultimately be committing a crime equal to a crime against the state. Somehow candy didn’t sound like it would make that any better.

There was a whisper from the driver, a security like officer who tapped an earwig he had. His gaze was unreadable behind tinted shades as he spoke to an unseen person back on Auradon. “The jackals have landed.”

They munched and chewed on their snacks in the back seat as Marinette tried to think of how they could do this in the minimal amount of time needed. She didn’t want to stay in Auradon any longer than she had too. Across from her, Nathaniel looked up from where he was pulling on a red licorice string between his teeth, looking contemplative.

“You’re looking a little washed out, Marinette.” He commented bluntly as he examined her expression. “Do you have some blush or something?”

Marinette closed her eyes with a slight groan. “No, Nathaniel I don't. I’m plotting.”

Nathaniel paused some, still looking at her with large turquoise colored eyes before he turned back to his licorice. “Well it’s not very attractive.”

Marinette rolled her eyes as Kim chewed ecstatically on something he had fished out of the minibar. “Mmmmm these are so good! They’re salty like nuts, but sweet like I don’t know what.”

Next to Marinette, Alya paused in her gnawing on a stick of rock candy. “Let me see,” the pirate girl said, reaching out to take one when Kim pulled his stash out of reach, instead opting to just open his mouth to show her the partially chewed chocolate and peanut butter combination.

Alya hissed and threw her stick of rock candy at his head. “Disgusting!”

Kim grunted as the stick hit him in the head as Alya turned to look out the front window through the open privacy window. Marinette almost missed how her friends face drained of blood before she exclaimed. “Look!”

Crowding around the privacy window, the four teenagers caught sight of what had sent Alya into such a panic.

From outside the front window, they watched in horror as the limousine rushed towards the edge of the island, straight toward the broken bridge that dropped into the bay below. Marinette felt her heart almost stop in fright. This wasn’t a chance to come to Auradon - it was a chance at destroying the children of their enemies.

“It’s a trap!” Nathaniel exclaimed hoarsely as they all crowded together in the back part of the limo, prepared for the stomach twisting drop off the edge of the island before they fell into the cold embrace of the bay below. Marinette desperately pressed the button of a random remote she had found in the back of the limo in the misguided hope that it would some how help them.

But there was no plunge from the cliff.

There was no drop into the bay waters that separated Auradon and the Isle.

When the four teenagers finally found the courage to peek open their eyes, the limo was filled with golden light.

“What just happened.” Kim asked in an abnormally quiet voice, eyes darting around the limo fearfully.

Shakily moving from their huddle, Marinette made her way back to peer through the privacy window and couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her mouth.

They were driving over the bay, a golden bridge formed beneath the car, more golden light encircling the road like a protective tunnel as they glided over the churning waters below.

It was real.

They had actually left the island.

At her side now, Alya let out a sigh of disbelief, eyes wide and full of awe. “It must be magic.”

Magic. Marinette looked down at the little remote in her hand and the button she had so desperately pressed in the moments before they thought they were going to plunge to their doom. She knocked on the privacy windows ledge, hoping to get the drivers attention. “Hey.”

The man turned, his face impassive as Marinette held up her magical little remote. “Did this little button open up the magic barrier and make this bridge?”

The man didn’t skip a beat or fault in his blank expression as he answered her, pointing at a button just above the rearview mirror. “No, this button opens the magic barrier. That one opens my garage.”

He seemed to give the slightest smile as his finger moved to the button beside the one that opened the barrier. “And this button…”

He gave it a firm push, the privacy divider suddenly raising between the driver and the four Island teenagers he was driving. Marinette and Alya turned around in their seats, eyes wide in disbelief before Marinette let out a semi-shocked laugh.

“Okay.” She said evenly, unable to hide the smile from her face. “Nasty. I like that guy.”

Maybe Auradon wouldn’t be as stuck up as she thought.

—————

Adrien suddenly couldn’t fathom that all of this was actually happening as he stood on the circle drive of Auradon Prep. Standing around the concrete drive, others students waited patiently and the marching band went through their warm ups as they stood in formation behind he and the other members of the welcome committee. There was some enthusiasm in the air, after all they had gotten out of class for this, but beneath that was an undercurrent of fear and apprehension. The same age old fears were at play in the minds of his fellow students as they waited for their newest classmates to arrive to Auradon Prep.

Villains would be walking amongst them soon.

Which was something that he wanted, he told himself as he waited patiently, dressed in a dark purple suit with the same pale lavender accents that he often saw his father wear. He wanted to see peace come between the people of Auradon and the innocent people of the Isle and this was the first step towards that final goal. The first step towards peace and equality to sprout between the divided peoples.

Some people, however, couldn’t seem to see it all from that perspective.

“I don’t see why you could let them come here, Adrikins.” The young woman at his side pouted, popping a bubble of her favorite gum impatiently. Chloe was never one for patience, even when if came to getting something she wanted. She preferred to use her influence and power to speed up the process but that couldn’t affect traffic or even manage to turn the limo around. It was a heat seeking missile headed for Auradon Prep and the socialite couldn’t stop that. “They’re vulgar!”

“You don’t know that, Chlo.” Adrien tried to appease her, his gaze fixed towards the bend that the limo would be coming around hopefully at any moment. “They could be extremely nice people.”

The young woman in the lavender, Grecian style dress, let out a contempt scoff of disgust, her wedge sandals tapping away. “You’re too trusting, Adrikins.”

“Prince Adrien is right, Princess Chloe.” A sing-song voice told them as the Headmistress, the Fairy Godmother Caline Bustier, made her appearance out on the driveway dressed in her signature powder blue dress with a large pink bow tied on the collar and matching shrug. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a bun, her hands clasped behind her back as she approached the two teenagers. She pointed a slender finger at the young blonde girl with a knowing smile, soft and gentle as always. “You shouldn’t judge someone before you even get to know them. These children are coming to learn which is an opportunity that everyone deserves to have.”

Chloe gave the smallest eye roll before she wrapped her arms around Adriens forearm in a vice like grip. She might not have possessed a lot of her fathers superhuman strength but when she wanted, she was hard to get away from.

“Whatever.” She muttered under her breath, pouting as she looked up the road.

There was a commotion towards the end of the lane, a student running up out of breath to bring the news. “They’re here! They’re past the gate!”

Fairy Godmother turned to the drum major and the marching band behind them. “Nino, if you would be so kind.”

Adrien’s best friend grinned excitedly, holding his trumpet up to his lips. “Of course, mon capitan! 1…2…3…”

The band started up the school song the moment the limo rounded up the drive. With the windows tinted, Adrien couldn’t see what the people inside looked like and could only hope he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his not-even-started reign as king.

The limo made its agonizingly slow crawl up the driveway and came to a stop just short of where Adrien, Fairy Godmother and Chloe stood waiting. The band continued to play as the security officer in charge of driving them stepped out of the drivers seat and came to open the back door. The people who spilled out of the back seat were so shocking that the musicians stopped playing abruptly and Adrien couldn’t blame them. It was a sight to be sure.

An Asian looking young man in red, gold and brown, his quaffed, dark brown hair tipped with blonde, ended up sprawled on the ground, having a tug of war with the dark skinned pirate girl as they quarreled over what looked like a scarf that must have been left behind in the limo by one of its previous passengers.

“Oh! Ow! Stop it! You got everything else Alya!” The young man hissed as he fought for purchase on the scrap of fabric. “Why do you want whatever this is?”

“Cause you want it!” The young woman, Alya Adrien assumed, continued to tug as the other two passengers exited the limo behind him. One was a young man with vibrant red hair and a clashing combination of bright red and dark blue clothing with golden accents and a heart on his cheek. The other stood out like a sore thumb among her warm colored companions. She was dressed in dark blues and blacks, her midnight colored hair was tipped in electric blue and was tied back into pig tails with ribbon that was the same bright blue. Her pale gaze darted from her quarreling companions to the crowd that was gathered before them and without hesitation, proceeded to nudge the broad young man with the toe of her chunky electric blue colored shoes.

“Alya! Kim!” She hissed in a hushed tone as the quarreling teens came apart, the fabric ultimately ending up in Alya’s possession. “We have an audience.”

Alya tried to quickly hide the scarf behind her as Kim scrambled up to his feet. Just like that, they were there standing before him, children from the Isle of the Lost.

“Just cleaning up.” Alya said with a coy smile, causing Kim to snicker some under his breath before he was silenced by a glare from the girl with the blue hair.

Beside him, Fairy Godmother cleared her throat, also recovering from the shock of what had just transpired in the first five seconds of them pulling up onto her driveway. “Leave it like you found it,” she said in that same sing-song tone before it dropped to a serious one. “And by that, I mean just leave it.”

Alya didn’t seem intimidated by the red headed Headmaster, merely glancing back at the blue haired girl who nodded in agreement. Alya rolled her eyes before throwing the scarf back into the limo before closing the door with the kick of her muddy boot.

Meanwhile, Kim seemed to have caught sight of Chloe where she was still hanging off of Adriens arm. He ran a hand through his hair before sliding up as close as he could get, a charming smile on his face as he winked at Chloe. “Hey, princess. The name’s Kim.”

Chloe’s lip curled, ready to spit out what undoubtedly would have been a venomous retort when the Fairy Godmother poked her head between the two of them.

“Welcome to Auradon Prep. Im Fairy Godmother, headmistress.”

At the mention of her title, the blue haired young woman seemed to suddenly take interest in the introductions. She gave a sweet smile, stepping out to stand in front of her line of friends. “The fairy godmother? As in, ‘Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo”?

Fairy Godmother let out an amused kind of giggle pointing at the young woman with a smile. “Bibbidi-bobbidi, you know it!”

“Wow.” The young woman said in awe, clasping her hands in front of her. “I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella when you just appeared out of nowhere, with that sparkly wand and that warm smile.”

“Oh, you’re too kind, miss -?” Fairy Godmother inquired.

“Marinette.” The young woman replied before gesturing to each of her friends. “And this is Alya, Kim and Nathaniel. Now about the wand - “

“That was a long time ago.” Fairy Godmother cut her off with an almost nostalgic tone before she turned on her signature smile. “As I always say, ‘don’t focus on the past or you’ll miss the future!’”

Adrien tried not too snort. It was true, she did say that a lot, enough to where he would some times hear the odd imitation muttered between students followed by laughter. Still, Adrien always appreciated his Headmistress’s enthusiasm for making sure her students had the best education.

She then gestured to Adrien and Chloe who stepped closer to meet them. “Adrien and Chloe are going to show you around, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She turned in a grandiose spread of her arms towards the schools facade. “The doors of wisdom are never shut!”

She turned back on her heels, hands clasped before her as she once more addressed her students, old and new. “But the library hours are from 8 am to 11 pm and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews.”

She gave a small bow of her head to Adrien and Chloe as well as the four Isle teenagers before she spun on her heels one more, clicking away up the drive and back into the school.

There was a beat of silence before Adrien swallowed the trepidation that had bubbled up in his throat. It was showtime. He turned to greet his guests and put on his most charming smile. “It’s so good to finally meet you all. Like Fairy Godmother said, my name is Adrien.”

“Prince Adrien.” Chloe corrected, looking the Isle teens over. “Soon to be king.”

At the mention of status, the red headed boy, Nathaniel, Adrien thought that Marinette had said, stepped forward. “Finally, someone of quality. My mother is a queen, which makes me a prince as well.”

“The Queen of Hearts doesn’t have any royal status here and neither do you.” Chloe said bluntly, blowing another bubble with her bubblegum.

Adrien let out a slight sigh, wanting this to go smoothly which hardly ever happened when Chloe was concerned. Still, he could hardly shoo her away now, she’d throw a fit. He gestured to the girl on his arm with a wave of his hand. “This is Chloe.”

“Princess Chloe.” The blonde corrected once again, turning her smug gaze on their guests. “His girlfriend, right Adrikins?”

Adrien didn’t make an attempt at answering her. They had been dating for a while but he could never find it in himself to go about exclaiming it to everyone like Chloe loved to do. He’d just have to work past that and try to get on to his prepared introduction.

“As I said earlier, it’s so good to finally me-“ he held out a hand to Kim, only to have be stared down with a look that he was sure could curdle milk. He pulled back his hand some. “-meet you all. This is a momentous occasion, and one that I hope will go down in history…”

As he shook Alya’s hand, he couldn’t help but notice the dark substance caked at the corners of her mouth. He brushed his fingers at his own, trying to help indicate it to her. “Is that chocolate?”

The piratess blinked, quickly wiping at her mouth with the heel of her hand as Adrien shook Nathaniels hand, still smiling despite the cold look the young man gave Chloe. “As the day our two peoples began to heal.”

“Or as the day that you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are.” Adrien was caught off guard by the comment, turning to face Marinette who stood at the end of the line with her arms crossed and an amused smile playing on her lips. Despite knocking him off balance when it came to his memorized introductory speech, the prince couldn’t find it in himself to continue in it. His smile softened to something more natural than the press release version he so often stuck to when it came to things like this.

“A little bit over the top?” He admitted and Marinette feigned consideration before nodding, holding her hand up with a small distance between her thumb and pointer finger. “Just a bit.”

Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle some. She was right, it had been a bit ridiculous. “Well, so much for my first impression.”

Sensing she was no longer the center of attention, Chloe suddenly leaned forward, staring Marinette down as sky blue eyes met electric blue. “You’re Hades daughter aren’t you?

Marinette nodded, unable to give any better answer before Chloe interrupted once again, her voice dripping with sarcasm to the point that Adrien wanted to cringe. “Yeah, you know what? I totally don’t blame you for your father trying to destroy my dad and keep my moms soul. My dad is Hercules, by the way.”

If Marinette was fazed by Chloes veiled insult, she didn’t show it, merely putting on a smile of her own and looking at her thoughtfully. “Wonder Boy. Yeah, I’ve heard of him. You know, I totally don’t blame your grandparents for locking my father away in the underworld away from the sun to look after the rotting corpses of humanity.”

Adrien felt Chloe’s grip tighten slightly, her teeth grit when she answered. “Water under the bridge.”

“Totes.” Marinette replied, her friends grinning connivingly behind her.

“Okay!” Adrien interrupted, clapping his hands to cut through the tension that had built up between the girls. “How about a tour? Yeah?”

He looked at each of his guests faces, landing on Marinette who seemed to be the bands de-fact-o leader. She seemed to consider him for a moment before shrugging. “I guess so.”

Adrien broke into a boyish grin, clasping his hands together. “Fantastic.”

He turned back towards the front of the school, Chloe still hanging off his arm as they walked across the driveway. “Auradon prep, originally built over 300 years ago and converted into a high school when my father when he became king.”

As they crossed the driveway, they walked around a small garden area that was at the center of the turnaround where a regal bronze statue of King Gabriel sat on a pedestal. Adrien paused, the group stopping behind him as he clapped before the statue. There was a twisting sound as the metal man turned into the visage of the Beast.

There was an outright cry of fear, Adrien spinning around abruptly to see Nathaniel had jumped into Kim’s arms at the transfiguration of the statue.

“Nathaniel! It’s okay!” Adrien assured him. “My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remain us that anythings possible.”

Marinette looked over the now beastly statue before looking at Adrien with a flicker of amusement.

“Does he shed much?” She asked in a casual tone as Kim dropped Nathaniel abruptly back onto the ground. Adrien could sense that she was trying to catch him off guard, but this time he was ready.

“Yeah, mom won’t let him on the couch.” The Prince replied with straight face and even tone, reveling in how his opponents eyebrows shot up in surprise. As they turned back to continue into the main school, Adrien made sure Marinette couldn’t see the huge grin that spread across his face.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be the worst idea after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I N T E R A C T I O N. 
> 
> It's happening people we finally made it to Auradon and it's time to turn things upside down. 
> 
> Also, an OFFICIAL update. We'll be updating twice a week now! My beta is finally editing the last chapter so there's no reason to not update twice instead of once. Shenanigans will unfold twice as fast my guys so BE READY. Be on the look out on Sunday's AND Wednesdays for your updates!


	6. Chapter 4

If Marinette was going to imagine what the fortress on the Isle was like before it all came crumbling down, she would think it to be a lot like the dormitory at Auradon Prep. Polished wood banisters and floors, carpeted walkways and medieval ornamentation that hung on the walls without the added flair of spray paint on them. This is where they ultimately ended their never ending tour with the Duke and Duchess of Auradon Prepiness.

Marinette could understand Chloe’s attitude towards her, there was too much bad blood to try and figure that out, but Adrien was entirely different. She had already steeled herself to the idea that the peoples of Auradon would judge them, fear them, and hate them, but Adrien somehow didn’t look at she and her friends like they were twisted and repulsive. That’s probably why they hadn’t ditched the tour in the first ten minutes.

As they stopped in the dormitory lobby, finally at the end where the Isle teens would be free to go find their rooms, Marinette decided to start the Q&A with a probing question of her own.

“So, you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon?” She asked casually as she studied the inside architecture. “Like wands and things like that?”

Her friends seemed to twitch at the question, ears perked and ready for the answer. Adrien turned, his blonde ball-and-chain still clinging possessively to his arm. “Yeah. It exists, of course, but it’s pretty much retired. Most of us here are just ordinary mortals.”

“Who happen to be kings and queens,” Marinette clarified with a mild taunt, smiling as Adrien seemed to turn a bit uncomfortable. Chloe, however, seemed to take it as a point of pride.

“That’s true,” She said with a smug smile. “Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years.”

Marinette knew it was a jab at their class, at the non-royal blood that moved sluggishly through herself and everyone on the Isle’s veins. She was ready to fight back, to tell Chloe where her precious blood would get her where Marinette was concerned when once again, Adrien managed to stall the girls’ confrontation for a later time by changing the subject.

“Nino!” Adrien called to a young man on the stairs, finally wriggling free from Chloe’s grasp to motion for his friend to join them. “Nino, come down.”

A young dark skinned man in a purple and lavender marching uniform descended the stairs with a trumpet tucked under his arm. He was taller than Adrien, his hair slightly messy from being tucked under a marching hat, and had glasses perched on his nose. He had warm colored eyes and a bright smile as Adrien threw an arm around his shoulders, looking equally pleased to see his friend.

“This is Nino. He’s going to help you with your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms.”

“Allô!” Nino said in a cheerful tone, his voice steeped with a combination of French and southern tones.

Adrien nudged his friend with his shoulder before stepping closer to Marinette. He was smiling again, he never seemed to stop, but this was simply a soft upturn of his lips. It was odd to be smiled at so normally without a hint of ulterior motive in his gaze or the sharp angles of a smirk.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” He said, not bothering to look at her friends, only at her. “And if there’s anything you need, feel free to -“

“Ask Nino,” Chloe snapped, curling her arms around Adrien’s upper arm, her eyes cutting daggers into Marinette. “He’ll be all too happy to help.”

Marinette felt her own smile curl into a sneer by default, relishing in how Chloe seemed to step behind Adrien like he was some kind of barrier between them. “Of course.”

Adrien waved at them as he was forcefully tugged out the dormitory front door, the two blondes disappearing out onto the Auradon Prep grounds as the doors closed.

Clearing his throat, Nino took a step closer to the group of teens, fiddling with the valves on his trumpet mindlessly. “Allô, like Adrien said, my name is Nino. My mother and father are Tiana and Prince Naveen and…”

His eyes seemed to go wide as he finally laid eyes on Alya from where she finally turned to look at him.

“Nom de Dieu…” The young man muttered under his breath as Alya stepped closer, holding out a hand towards the stupefied trumpet player.

“Alya. Captain Hook’s daughter,” Alya said in a smooth tone, and Marinette knew she was enjoying watching the Auradon native squirm.

Nino quickly shook and dropped her hand, his face a shade of deep red as he tugged on his jacket, trying to recover. “Okay, so, um, about your classes.”

Marinette and her friends gathered around as Nino produced four sheets of paper schedules. “I, uh, put in the requirements already… History of Woodsmen and Pirates -“

“Don’t really need that one,” Alya crooned, making Nathaniel and Kim laugh while Nino tried to continue.

“Safety rules for the Internet and uh… Remedial Goodness 101.” The last class’s name was said in a rushed tone, just hoping to get past it as he looked anywhere but at the other four teenagers. Much to his chagrin, Marinette didn’t let it go.

“Let me guess. New class?” She asked in a lilting tone, knowing full well what the higher ups intended when they put in that class. When Nino didn’t answer quickly enough, Marinette pulled away from his orbit to let him breathe. She turned to her crew, motioning them towards the closest set of carpeted stairs. “Come on, guys, let’s go find our dorms.”

They were half up the stairway when Nino found his voice again. “Um, guys?”

They paused as Nino gestured to the staircase leading to the other half of the dorms. “Your dorms are that way.”

There was a thump of feet on stairs as Marinette, Kim and Nathaniel made their way to the other staircase, Alya pausing by the flustered musician, to get the last word in.

“I hope there isn’t a frog in your throat every time we meet, Nino.” Marinette heard Alya say before she ran up the stairs with a slight giggle. Nino was stuck there for a long time after they had disappeared up the stairs, Alya’s giggle still ringing in his ears.

—————

Nathaniel and Kim’s dorm was a replica of Marinette and Alya’s. There were two four-post beds that sat up on a raised section of the floor, complete with the most cushy mattresses and comforters that any of them had come in contact with. There were deep purple curtains hung over the large windows that were pulled back to allow in what moonlight filtered down from the night sky. Their communal round table was already covered in a wide variety of what Marinette could only assumed were stolen items and Nathaniels ar’t supplies. Nathaniel was curled up on his bed, playing with some kind of tablet looking device, while Kim swung his arms and grunted at the flat screen on the wall as he attempted to defeat the villainous characters that flashed across the screen. Marinette tried not to think about how the opponents looked a lot like their parents and friends from the Isle.

“Marinette!” Nathaniel said excitedly, waving her over excitedly as he gazed wide-eyed at his tablet. “Isn’t this amazing? It’s a digital drawing app that records while you draw so you can watch a time-lapse of all your work later! Isn’t it fantastic?”

“That’s awesome, Nathaniel,” Marinette said, trying to be supportive. It really was impressive, this compact yet powerful little device, but it wasn’t something they needed to be distracted by. “Where’d you get it?”

“It was just here! We all got one!” Nathaniel said in awe, his eyes never leaving the time-lapse video of a stunningly realistic drawing of the bedroom from where he sat on his bed. “Didn’t you look in your desk?”

“No. Didn’t really think of doing that when I was more preoccupied with trying to take over the world,” Marinette said flatly, hoping her tone would rouse Nathaniel from his reverie so they could finally get down to business and hopefully be out of here soon.

Instead of being sheepish like Nathaniel normally was when he was berated by a stronger personality, he merely pouted morosely, muttering under his breath to his tablet. “You sound just like your dad.”

“Thank you,” Marinette responded, sounding almost proud of the comparison, when she jumped at the sudden shouting from behind her.

“Die, suckers!” Kim howled at the digital enemies, a grin spread across his face as he threw another punch with the joystick clutched in his hand. He paused in his level, panting while gesturing to the game excitedly. “Guys, you have to come check this thing out. It’s awesome.”

“Do I have to remind you what we’re all here for? Why we came here in the first place?” Marinette barked, desperately trying to get through whatever spell had fallen over her friends. They seemed like they were actually enjoying this. She couldn’t let that happen. They couldn’t be distracted by all the gadgets and toys, not when they have more pressing matters to attend to and angry parents to deal with if they didn’t.

“Fairy Godmother, blah, blah, blah,” Kim said, punctuating every blah with a punch toward the screen. “Magic wand, blah, blah, blah.”

Alya and Nathaniel chuckled and snorted at Kim’s antics, but Matinette would not have any of it.

“This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents,” Marinette said firmly. The mention of their parents waiting impatiently back on the Isle caused her three friends to go quiet, only the sound of Kim’s game cutting through it. “To prove that we are evil, and vicious, and ruthless, and cruel. Yeah?”

There was a moment of quiet thought before Alya spoke for the other three. “Yeah.”

“Good.” Marinette nodded before walking over to the center table where Alya sat with her feet propped up. “Alya. Point the way.”

The young piratess nodded, fishing around in her long coat pocket before pulling out that same banged up compass that her father had given her before they left.

“How is that piece of junk going to help us again?” Kim asked snidely as he strode over to stand at Marinette’s shoulder, looking skeptically at what Alya held in her hand.

“By speaking to it nicely, meat head.” Alya stepped back immediately. “If it can point the way to Neverland it can point to some stupid wand.”

“Then let’s ask it nicely,” Marinette said, studying the compass carefully as Alya held it up towards her mouth.

“Compass faithful, compass quick, point the way to the magic… stick.” 

“If saying magic stick actually works I will slap myself,” Kim said quietly under his breath, causing Marinette to snort before it was cut off by a soft whirling sound. From where it sat busted and dented in Alya’s hand, the compass’s needle spun and twitched on its axis, swinging to and fro in confusion before it finally landed on a fixed point.

“North by Northeast of here,” Alya said confidently, looking at Kim smugly. “Slap yourself, meat head, cause that’s where the wand is.”

“So?” Kim snorted in response, pouting at how the compass had manage to actually do something. “That’s just a direction. We could be walking for hours in that direction.”

“It’s in the Natural History Museum.”

The sudden addition of a fourth voice from the bed caught the other three off guard. They turned to see Nathaniel peering sheepishly over his tablet, his face red at the sudden attention.

“What?” Nathaniel said with a cracking tone as he spun his tablet around to face them, showing an open maps app with a blue line drawn between where they sat and where the wand was located. “This place does have WiFi, y’know.” 

Marinette jumped from where she sat at the table, eyes wide and body buzzing with anticipation as she stared down Nathaniel’s magic little tablet. “How far is that?”

Nathaniel spun the screen to face him, eyes narrowed as he found the distance on the maps app. “Uh… it says 2.3 miles from here.”

“Then we better start walking.”

—————

They walked in the shadows of towering buildings with balconies and arched windows, their footsteps muffled by boots on verdant grass. Moonlight lit the way as the four Isle teens climbed up the towering stairs that would lead up to the front entrance of the school’s Natural History Museum. The front doors were ornate and glass paneled, allowing them to chance a look at the front entry way to the museum where a spinning wheel display and a security guard sat idly through the night.

To her right, Kim scoffed, a look of mild disbelief at the ancient looking spinning wheel that sat up on a dais with an identification plaque on it - ‘Maleficent’s Spinning Wheel.’

“That’s Maleficent’s spinning wheel?” He asked, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Yeah. It’s kinda dorky,” Nathaniel admitted, a smile tugging at his pale lips and making the heart on his cheek bone arc some.

“The more inconspicuous it is, the more likely people are to think it’s non threatening.” Marinette clarified as she flipped through the pages of Circe’s spell book. It had been clutched in her hand from the moment she walked into Kim and Nathaniel’s room and as she looked over the curled greek lettering, she couldn’t help but think the same of the book as she did of the spinning wheel. It was plain and leather bound, the only thing on the cover being Circe’s name stitched in golden thread at the bottom right hand corner. She could only hope that her father was right and that the magic words written in the pages would work on Auradon. She finally found a spell that might work for them at that moment.

She ran her finger over the text. “Magic spindle, do not linger. Mage my victim prick a finger.”

From where he sat at the his desk surrounded by security camera feeds, the security guard merely turned in his chair, gazing at the wheel in a kind of daze but did nothing else.

Kim scoffed again, looking at Marinette with a half-lidded stare. “Impressive.”

“I got chills,” Nathaniel laughed, only to be cut off by a sharp elbow to the ribs from Alya. Undeterred, Marinette flipped farther back in the book, to the stronger spells where she found one that would be a better bet to make their problem go away.

“Prick the finger, prick it deep. Send my enemy off to sleep,” Marinette read, and to the awe of her friends, the security guard rose from his seat, approaching the spinning wheel with renewed curiosity. To their surprise, he actually did climb up onto the spinning wheel’s exhibit platform and touch the spinning wheel needle with a sharp prick. There was a sharp gasp from the security guard before he yawned, long and wide, before he laid down on the dais and drifted off to a magic induced sleep.

Marinette felt a self-satisfied smirk curl into her face, making sure to take the opportunity to look down her nose at her slack-jawed companions, “Not so dorky now, huh?”

Still riding the high of a magical victory, Marinette strode toward the large double doors, grasping at the door handle. She gave a fierce tug at it, only to feel the door merely shudder slightly under her grasp.

Locked.

“So much for a magical solution,” Kim sneered, taking a few steps back from the landing. From the look in his eye, Marinette knew he had already concocted what would probably be a bad idea.

“Stand back,” Kim said, shoulder forward like he was a linebacker about to tackle an opponent. As he started his charge towards the unsuspecting door, Marinette flipped frantically through the pages of Circe’s spell book.

“Make it easy, make it quick, open up without a kick!” Marinette recited as quick as she could, the doors flying open easily. Kim soared past the doorway, tripping gracelessly onto the polished wood floors like a newborn deer.

There was the prompt sound of footsteps stepping over Kim’s prone form. Marinette didn’t spare him a glance as she and Alya walked towards where the compass pointed.

“Coming?” She called with a false politeness that made Kim scowl on the ground. Nathaniel’s slender hands tried to help the hulking figure up from where he laid sprawled out in the entryway, “Come on, Kim, up we go.”

The other young man shoved his helping hands aside, still looking miffed as he hauled himself to his feet and followed after the girls. Nathaniel let out an exasperated sigh, picking up pace to try and catch up, calling out to the retreating figures, “I was just trying to help!”

Soft footfalls scampered through the marble floored hallways of the National History Museum, past archives and collections filled with lesser things but not the tantalizing artifact they were after. Until one collection was just too alluring to move past.

Off one of the hallways was a room filled with statues all framed by multicolored light, sat up on daises with plaques declaring their names to those who dared to look upon them. The golden lettering above the double set doors said it all: “Hall of Villains”.

Marinette couldn’t help but feel her feet come to a stop, momentarily stopped by the visage of her father in his former glory. The statue was all dark and shadows, her father’s feet cloaked in carved smoke and flames that curled up into his black grecian toga. In his one hand he held his Helm, rumored to have once had the ability to turn him completely invisible. In the other hand was skull with rubies inlaid in its eye sockets. Hades acidic stare still managed to pierce into her soul even though she knew he wasn’t real. He was locked away on the Isle, and yet the young woman couldn’t suppress the chill that ran down her spine.

She could tell her friends were experiencing the same awe and fear as they looked at similar statues of their parents in their prime. Gaston with his shotgun raised and poised to take aim with a hunting dog growling at his feet. Captain Hook with no mud on his boots and a well shined hook, mid snarl as he ordered a command. The Queen of Hearts in all her extravagance as she sat on a throne, looking down her nose at the people who dared to approach her.

“Father…?” Alya said breathlessly, as she saw examined her well made coats and feathered hat.

“Killer,” Kim muttered with a smile at his father’s crooked smirk.

“I will never forget Mother’s Day again,” Nathaniel muttered to himself, and Marinette could agree with the sentiment. She had known her father all her life, yet standing before his former self somehow made her feel… small. An insignificant pawn to be used in a grand scheme.

Marinette took a deep breath, her fingernails jabbed into the palms of her hands in an attempt to distract from the fear she could feel bubbling up in her. She was no pawn. She was her father’s only chance at escape and that gave her a far greater importance than a worthless servant.

Still she couldn’t help but hearing his words echo in her head.

_The future of the free world rests on your shoulders._

_Don’t blow it._

“Come on, guys. We have a wand to find,” Marinette said in an infuriatingly shaky tone. She nudged Alya in the arm. “Alya, lead the way.” 

They followed after the twitching needle on Alya’s compass, traversing the maze until they came to a second floor circular balcony. Floating in the center of the room’s opening was the object of their desire - Fairy Godmother’s Wand.

Kim let out a howl of pleasure, running about the balcony like a predator on the prowl as he circled the floating wand.

“There it is.” Kim seemed to quiver with anticipation, boldly hooking the toes of his boots under the railing before leaning out as far as his arm would take him towards the center. Marinette’s eyes widened as she tried to cross the room to where he hovered precariously over the edge. “Kim, don’t! There’s something weird about this room - !”

She didn’t get much more out before Kim’s fingertips brushed against an invisible wall. There was a flash of light before Kim was sent flying backwards, skidding on the floor before hitting the wall. Kim only had time to sit up onto his elbows before a piercing screech split through the formerly calm night air. Nathaniel quickly pressed his hands to his ears, eyes squeezed tightly shut against the noise.

“Really?” He shouted above the noise towards the ceiling, as if the alarm were a person he could talk too. “A force field and a siren? That’s just excessive!!”

“Less yelling, more moving!” Marinette shouted back before pulling Kim to his feet with a firm tug. “Let’s go!”

They fled back the way they came, past the lifelike statues and magical artifacts to where the security guard still slept like a baby on the spinning wheels display platform. Marinette, Kim and Nathaniel were halfway out the door when Alya paused by the flashing computer screens and lit up call waiting on the phone. Her eyes darted between the open front door and the open computer before she flew to the keyboard. A few simple keystrokes and the alarms went silent before she quickly grabbed the buzzing phone from where it sat waiting.

“Hello?” She asked, leaning on the security guard’s desk while skimming computer screens. “Yeah, yeah. No, false alarm. It was a malfunction in the, uh…” Alya’s eyes narrowed in on the updates needed under the system preferences. “In the 714 chip in the breadboard circuit.”

Her expression melted into relief and her smile grew as the conversation seemed to turn in her favor. “Yeah. Okay. Say hi to the missus.”

From the outside portico, Marinette’s voice cut through Alya’s relief. “Alya!”

She let out a sigh before hanging up on the security company, taking long strides past the sleeping security guard and out into the night air.

“You’re welcome!” She said sharply as she started after the other three retreating figures. They raced across the courtyard, the museum becoming further and further in the background as they made their way back towards Auradon Prep’s dormitories.

“Way to go, Kim,” Marinette hissed as they crept up the staircase towards their dorms in the dark. “Now we have to go to school tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We came, we tried to steal a powerful magical instrument, and all we got was an 8 to 3 school schedule. 
> 
> I live to write Alya flirting with Nino and him being flustered by it.


	7. Chapter 5

The Fairy Godmother had to be the most positive person in all of Auradon. She flitted about in front of the chalkboard in her signature powder blue dress and shrug, singing the questions to her four unamused students as they sat in a classroom filled with far too many empty seats. Then again, the only students who needed to be present in Remedial Goodness 101 were the ones in the most need of it out of the student body.

Nathaniel sat beside Kim across the aisle from Alya and Marinette. While the boys and Alya seemed to be actually attempting to answer Fairy Godmother’s never-ending situational questions, Marinette was more absorbed in the sketchbook before her. Scribbled across the page was a curled and shaded drawing of the thing she wanted most in the world right then - Fairy Godmother’s wand. If Fairy Godmother noticed her mindless doodle, she wasn’t quick to acknowledge it. She simply went on to the next set of questions she had drawn up.

“If someone hands you a crying baby,” Fairy Godmother asserted, the tip of her chalk hovering above each word as she spoke. “Do you, A, curse it? B, lock it in a tower? C, give it a bottle? Or D, carve out its heart.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Marientte saw Alya’s eyebrows knit together in concentration before her hand waved in the air like a flag on a mast. Fairy Godmother smiled at her in a sweet motherly way that she had, pointing at her with the end of her chalk. “Alya?”

Alya looked at her, still a bit confused as she leaned her chin into the heel of her palm. “What was the second one?”

Marinette smirked at the way she saw Fairy Godmother’s serene smile curdle into something bordering on pained as she turned away from the pirate girl. “Oh, um, not quite, my dear.”

She turned to the boys who seemed to be mulling it over just as much as Alya had, as if the question were a hard one to interpret. She made a slight clicking noise at the back of her throat before her aqua colored eyes turned on Marinette, the only student who hadn’t seemed as eager to give her an answer. Fairy Godmother tilted her head slightly as she regarded the island dweller with a curious gaze.

“Marinette,” she asked. “What do you think the correct answer is?”

Marinette didn’t bother to look up from where her pencil met paper. “C, give it a bottle.”

Fairy Godmother’s sweet smile bloomed across her features once more and Marinette could swear she almost sounded proud as she regarded her. “Correct. Again.”

“You’re on fire, Marinette!” Nathaniel said from across the aisle, as if her intellect were something to behold.

Marinette merely shrugged, tapping the end of her pencil against the paper in an unheard rhythm. “I just picked the one that doesn’t sound like any fun.”

Her answer spurred a chorus of understanding nods and ‘Ah’s’ as the realization hit her friends too. Clearly, doing things the blandest way possible was the way to get through Auradon Prep and its attempts at normalizing the Isle Teens. Or at least it would get them through Remedial Goodness.

At the back of the room, the door to the hallway squeaked open, drawing everyone’s attention to the newcomer in their midst. She was their age, sporting the same auburn colored hair and aqua eyes that the Fairy Godmother had, and complete with a frilled dress the same powder blue. Her glasses made her eyes seem even larger than what was possible and as she squeaked and fidgeted at the back of the room, Marinette couldn’t help but think she had the disposition of one of the mice Fairy Godmother once had a knack for turning human.

“Hello, dear one,” Fair Godmother tittered from the front, holding out a hand towards the young lady to draw her closer. The young lady scampered quickly past where the Isle Teens were seated, squeaking in fright as if they were about to pounce at any moment despite never having made a move from their seats. Marinette watched her pale hands shake as she held out a set of papers to the Fairy Godmother.

“Hi,” The newcomer tittered in a high pitched voice, eyes still darting back to look at Marinette, Alya, Kim and Nathaniel. She fidgeted with a strand of her straight auburn hair as her mother took the papers from her. “You need to sign off on the early dismissal for the coronation.”

The Fairy Godmother nodded in understanding before taking a pen from her podium to scribble out her signature. “Everyone here remembers my daughter, Sabrina?”

“Mom, no!” Sabrina squeaked, chewing at her bottom lip anxiously.

Marinette smiled to herself as an idea started to take root. The daughter of the Fairy Godmother… she could be useful. She just needed time to figure out how.

The Fairy Godmother, meanwhile, had returned the papers and rested a gentle hand on her daughter’s shoulder, turning her so that she faced fully towards the other students.

“It’s okay, Sabrina,” the Fairy Godmother crooned, waving a hand to the Isle Teens. “Sabrina, this is everyone.”

Beside her, Alya snickered as Kim managed a wink in Sabrina’s direction. Marinette stifled a snort as Sabrina visibly flinched, going stiff as a board as she stared down at her rose-colored flats.

“Hi. Don’t mind me. As you were!” Sabrina stuttered out before making a break for the door. There was a familiar squeak followed by a harsh slam before they were left alone again with the Fairy Godmother who had already turned to the set of questions below what they had already answered.

“Let’s continue then,” their instructor said before flamboyantly throwing her hand against her forehead in mock faint. “You find a vial of poison!”

She quickly read off the answers with a flick of her wrist as she pointed to each answer. “Do you, A, put it in the king’s wine? B, paint it on an apple? Or C, turn it in to the proper authorities?”

This time, Alya, Kim and Nathaniel’s hands shot up immediately. Desperate to give the answer, Kim slammed Nathaniel’s raised hand into the table with his, pinning it to the table as Nathaniel squirmed to get away.

“Hey! Get off!” Nathaniel whined as Kim smirked, his hand immovable despite Nathaniel’s wriggling. Fairy Godmother naturally chose to ignore the squabbling and gestured to Kim.

“Kim? Do you know the answer?” She asked pleasantly as Kim finally let go of Nathaniel’s arm.

“C. You turn it over to the proper authorities,” Kim said with a smug smile, eyeing Nathaniel as he pouted.

“I was going to say that before you assaulted me,” Nathaniel murmured, only to have Kim’s face in his own.

“But I said it first, didn’t I?” Kim said in a mocking tone before pulling Nathaniel into a headlock, rumpling the redhead’s normally perfect hairstyle and knocking his crown to the ground beneath their desk.

“Ow!” Nathaniel howled, pressed into the crook of Kim’s much stronger arm as he struggled to get free. “Let go of me, Kim!”

“Come on, admit it! I said it first!”

“No!”

The class was lost at that point, Fairy Godmother’s shoulders drooping in annoyance as she tapped her hand against her podium in a series of loud thumps. By then, Kim had wrestled Nathaniel to the ground and had one of his arms pinned behind him, Marinette and Alya on their feet to avoid the chaos before they all stilled at Fairy Godmother’s stern tone.

“Boys!” She barked, straightening up again to her proper facade when the boys stilled. She folded her hands in front of her and forced a smile down at them. “I am going to encourage you to use that energy on the tourney field.”

From where he laid on the floor beneath Kim’s grip, Nathaniel managed to choke out a response.

“Oh, no. That’s okay,” he croaked as he twisted his face up to look at her. “Whatever that is, we’ll pass.”

———

What had sounded like a suggestion had turned into a mandatory class change. Originally, there had been a scheduled study hall time for Kim, Nathaniel, Alya and Marinette. That abruptly turned into 45 minutes of something called ‘Competitive Athletics’ for the Isle boys. While the girls headed off to the library to hit the books and harass the librarian, Nathaniel and Kim were led to the locker room and given practice uniforms. Today, they would officially be joining the Auradon Knights Tourney Team.

“I already have a bad feeling about this,” Nathaniel whined as he put away his clothes in the new locker he had been given. Everything in the locker room was decked out in purple and gold to match the new, extremely loose fitting uniform that Nathaniel had been given. “This is the completely wrong color palette for me to be in.”

“Oh, shut up, Nat,” Kim said as he finished tying up his new pair of gently used cleats. He was taking their schedule change far better than Nathaniel, his grin having not waned since they were told to change and grab a bat for game play. “If they’re giving us a bat, then that means we get to hit stuff. This is way better than sitting in a library filled with book smell.”

“Only you would fault a place for having ‘book smell’,” Nathaniel quipped as he fumbled to carry his helmet, bat and new shield. “Any game requiring an actual shield seems like it should be banned from the public school system.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’ve got it wrong, Nat,” Kim sneered, throwing an arm around Nathaniel’s neck as he tugged him towards the door leading out to the field. “We’re in private school now and thus, above the law.”

———

The Tourney coach was a stiff lipped man with a thin mustache named Mr. D’Argencourt. He was technically the fencing instructor for Auradon Prep, but given that it was the off season, he was assigned to lead the schools tourney team, much to his chagrin judging by how his face seemed to be frozen in a perpetual scowl. Or, at least that’s how he seemed to regard Kim and Nathaniel as they finally made it out of the locker room to join the rest of the team. He flipped through the papers on his clipboard before finally addressing them.

“Kim and Nathaniel, I presume?” He asked in a clipped tone. Before either boy could answer, he was already speaking again. “For future classes, I expect you to be punctual and alert. I have high standards for my athletes and do not expect to lower them for… transfer students.”

Kim scowled at his tone as Coach D’Argencourt lowered his clipboard to look them in the eye. “Is that understood, boys?”

Nathaniel quickly spoke up before Kim could say something to get them in trouble again. They were already forced into playing sports, Nathaniel would rather not endure whatever punishment they had besides this. “Of course, Coach D’Argencourt. We’ll be more prepared in the future. Please, carry on with practice.”

Appeased by his answer, Coach D’Argencourt turned back to his clipboard to skim it over. He looked up and pointed at various faces in the crowd as he called out names and positions.

“Kim, Adrien, offense,” Kim’s eyes cut over to the blonde prince who smiled at him kindly as if they had been friends for longer than a few days.

“Follow me,” Prince Adrien said with a clap on Kim’s shoulder. “I’ll show you the ropes.”

Kim shrugged off his touch before taking long strides towards the field, leaving Adrien jogging to catch up. Nathaniel now stood to the side alone in his too big uniform as coach called out more names that he didn’t recognize.

“Wayhem, you’re on defense.” A young man with caramel colored skin and dark hair nodded before jogging onto the field. “Ivan, you’re shooting.”

Name after name was called. Nathaniel was eventually told to be on defense, but having never heard of tourney before let alone played it, he simply wandered the field, carrying his shield and helmet awkwardly as he tried to find out where to go. Eventually, he caught the attention of Coach D’Argencourt who didn’t seem pleased with his aimlessness.

“Hey! Lost boy!” The coach yelled from the sidelines, waving his arms as he tried to get Nathaniel’s attention. Judging from his expression, he had already managed to do something wrong without the game having started. He gestured to the helmet and shield in Nathaniel’s hands. “Put your helmet on and get out of the kill zone!”

Nathaniel blinked, his head twisting from side to side fearfully. “K-kill zone?”

“The zig-zag on the grass!” The Coach howled as Nathaniel looked at the red and yellow zig-zag grass that pointed towards an intimidating looking ballista with the face of a dragon. The sight of it made Nathaniel jump before he bolted for the green grass instead, quickly shoving his helmet on his head and holding his shield and bat as best he could.

Across the Kill Zone, Prince Adrien tried his best to get through to Kim, who didn’t want anything to do with his tips and tricks.

“So we hit the ball and get it into the goal across the Kill Zone,” Kim said in a bored tone, bored with the Prince and itching to get moving. The game seemed simple enough and he was confident enough to know he didn’t need any pointers on how to get from Point A to Point B from an Auradon boy.

“Well, there’s more to it than that - “ Adrien started, only to be cut off by Kim grabbing his bat and getting into a rushing position.

“No, there isn’t.”

When Coach D’Argencourt seemed to be satisfied with where everyone had fallen on the field, he raised his whistle to his lips. With the sharp bleat, the tourney field erupted into activity on both sides.

Adrien put the ball in play from the goal on one side of the field, dodging the defense stuck to him to start towards the other side of the field. He smacked the ball to another offense player, only to have it stolen by the other team. Unperturbed, Adrien turned his attention to down field, trying and figure out the next move in a strategy to get the ball back.

Kim, however, was not one for strategy.

The defensive lineman that was supposed to cover him was sent sprawling across the grass with a shoulder check as Kim barreled past. When another rose to replace him, Wayhem, if Kim had to guess by the eyes and skin tone, he too was thrown to the ground as Kim roared past towards the ball carrier. Prone on the ground, Wayhem barely managed to sit up as Kim made his move.

Kim shoulder checked the ball carrier from behind, the force knocking the opposing player on his face and the ball into the kill zone. The ballista at the end of the kill zone took aim at the one-man wrecking ball that was Kim, only to miss every shot as the Isle teen dodged and weaved across the firing zone in one piece. Another defense player was flipped on his back when he tried to stop Kim, leaving only Nathaniel in his way between the goal on the other end of the field.

“Kim, it’s me!” Nathaniel shouted as Kim rounded on him. “It’s Nathaniel!”

Kim roared as he took aim, smacking the ball to where it bounced off Nathaniel’s shield and off to the side. Nathaniel fruitlessly threw his own bat like a javelin at Kim, only to have it knocked away as he came barreling towards him.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Nathaniel howled like a prayer as he dropped to the ground, covering himself with his shield like a turtle hiding from the world. Kim must have seen this as an advantage, because not soon after the metal of the shield pressed into Nathaniel, Kim used him as a human springboard.

By the time Kim went to recover the ball, Adrien had already picked it up on his bat, ready to make a goal. Kim, too determined to recognize friend from foe, swatted him aside and scooped the ball up himself. He bounced it into the air and when it came down, he swung for it with all his might.

The ball went shooting out of the reach of the goalie’s bat and into the embrace of the net. The practicing cheerleaders, Princess Chloe among them, screamed in delight at the sidelines as Kim proceeded to chase the goalie away from his post with a victorious roar. Coach D’Argencourt exchanged confused looks with his assistant as Kim threw off his gloves and helmet, dancing about the goal area smugly while the toppled players from the short game, offensive and defensive, struggled to their feet. A few feet away, Prince Adrien sat up on his elbows after pulling off his helmet looking just as dazed as everyone felt.

Finally shaking off the shock of what had just happened, Coach D’Argencourt blew furiously on his whistle as he pointed to Kim. “You! Get over here!”

Kim grinned, managing a wink at Chloe and her cheerleaders as he jogged back towards the sidelines. Chloe’s lip curled while the other girls swooned.

“Ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath as she clapped insistently at her cheerleaders to get back in position instead of fawning. “Utterly ridiculous!”

Back at the sideline with the rest of the players, Kim stood in the half-circle of bruised and beaten boys as he faced Coach D’Argencourt.

“What do you call that?” Coach D’Argencourt said sternly as he pointed back to where Kim had left his bat and helmet in the goal zone. Kim looked confused, not understanding what had gone wrong, before the coach’s face split into a rare smile.

“I call that raw talent,” The instructor said in a somewhat pleased tone. “Come find me later. I’ll show you something you haven’t seen before. It’s called a rule book.”

Coach D'Argencourt clapped a hand on the Isle teen’s shoulder with the same proud look, making Kim blink in a mixture of confusion and personal pride. “Welcome to the team, son.”

Kim cracked a lopsided smile as the coach turned his attention from his new strong arm to the straggler of the group. He considered Nathaniel as he pulled off his helmet, struggling to breathe.

“Have you ever thought about band?” The coach asked, Nathaniel deflating some at the insinuation while Kim just laughed. Sure, tourney definitely wasn’t his new favorite thing, but he would have preferred not to have been called out in front of everyone else.

Behind him, a hand was set on his shoulder. It was Prince Adrien, looking at him with a supportive smile and squeezing his shoulder.

“I’ll work with him, Coach,” Adrien said firmly and full of confidence. Coach D’Argencourt dipped his head to the young man, a glimmer of hesitation in his gaze. “Thank you, Prince Adrien.”

He turned to the team collectively with a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Alright, men. Let’s run that again.”

The response was a mix of groans and shouts of excitement while Kim howled like a man possessed. He turned to head back on the field when he came face to face with Wayhem, the prince that he had knocked over at the start of the game. He was half a head shorter than Kim, most people were, but the way he had squared his shoulders and the set of his jaw made Kim think Wayhem would try to intimidate him anyway. The square off didn’t last long before Kim pushed past him, hitting him in the same shoulder he had checked earlier.

Kim smirked at the quiet ‘Ow’ he caused before going to pick up his bat and helmet, ready to take the field once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Late Sunday update due to a long work shift and a very tired Shelbye.)
> 
> TIME FOR TOURNEY HUZZAH.


	8. Chapter 6

Adrien’s days had taken on a tiring rhythm - school, coronation prep, meetings, sleep, repeat. He knew that his life was destined to end up more like this once a crown was set upon his head, but in the moment all he could think was that he really wished he could sleep in for once.

Then there was the issue of his first royal decree.

The Isle kids hadn’t been as wild as he had expected them to be, Kim out on the tourney field was an exception, but he knew they needed more attention than what he had given them. Fairy Godmother made sure their schooling was taken care of, but what about the social aspects? If he were to be a good leader like his parents were, he needed to start finding time to make sure they were as welcomed as they could be. The first opportunity he had ended up coming between classes when he stopped by his locker to exchange textbooks.

As always, the two people who seemed to follow him everywhere, Chloe and Wayhem, were stuck to him like glue. Further down the outdoor breezeway, Marinette and her friend Alya stood at Marinette’s spray painted locker, giggling at some unheard joke. They were hard not to notice, a pair of deep red and indigo surrounded by a sea of pastels, especially when Alya dripped with fishhooks and crossbones while Marinette was all electric blues with dark skulls and grecian patterns.

They couldn’t be more unlike everyone he had ever known in his life on Auradon. And while they supposedly might want him dead for his parents actions, somehow that made him all the more curious about them.

As if sensing his thoughts, Wayhem determinedly pulled Adrien back to reality with a firm pinch to his upper arm.

“Ow! Hey!” Adrien hissed, pulling his gaze from Marinette and Alya to face his caramel colored companion.

“Don’t let them fool you, Adrien,” Wayhem whispered, eyes darting between the blonde headed prince and the Isle girls down the hall. “Those kids are trouble.”

Adrien’s eyes darted down the hallway to where Alya said her goodbyes to Marinette. Sure, she was dressed in dark colors and gave off a more intimidating presence than what most were used to, but Adrien couldn’t bring himself to see her or the others in the same way his friends seemed to.

“Wayhem, be reasonable,” Adrien soothed, closing his locker. “Give them a chance.”

There was a sharp pop to his right as Chloe popped a gum bubble, disinterest oozing off of her as she twirled at her bright blonde ponytail.

“No offense, Adrikins,” she started, Adrien already knowing whatever followed would only be offensive. “You’re just too trusting. I know your mom fell in love with a big nasty beast who turned out to be a prince.”

“Well, yes but - “

“But with my mom and dad,” Chloe continued like he had never said anything. “That kind benefactor she wanted turned out to be a twisted, ugly, death deity with bad hair.”

Her tone lowered to a hoarse whisper as she leaned in close their circle, eyes narrowing in suspiciously at where Marinette fiddled with her textbooks.

“That girl’s father, if you don’t remember,” Chloe said definitively, as if her word would convince him that the Isle kids were evil incarnate. Instead, it only proved to make Adrien feel even more tired as he pulled away from Wayhem and Chloe.

“I think you’re wrong about them,” Adrien said, mindlessly straightening his uniform jacket and standing up a bit straighter. “I’ll see you later.”

Without another word to Chloe or Wayhem, Adrien pulled away to walk down the hall to where their ‘enemy’ closed her locker. He leaned one shoulder against the wall of lockers, barely touching the edge of her graffiti.

“Hey,” Adrien said with his most charming smile.

Electric blues flitted to look at him before closing her locker to lean on it as well, her textbooks clutched to her chest.

“Hey yourself,” she said in a mild tone.

“How was your first day?”

“Super,” was all she responded with. Small talk having failed, Adrien looked for a different approach.

He casually examined the spray paint that bloomed between them. It was a dark gray skull with sharp teeth and furrowed brow, blue fire flickering away in its sockets. Curled around the skull in curled script were the haunting words ‘Long Live Evil.” Not the best way to make friends in Auradon, Adrien thought, but at least it could be a conversation starter.

“You should really think about taking this talent off the locker and into art class. I could, uh, sigh you up,” Adrien offered as he struggled to keep Marinette’s attention. He wasn’t used to seeing someone act so blasé, her eyes watching the people who passed rather than paying attention to what he was saying. Adrien had to almost physically shake himself at the thought. His thoughts were getting dangerously close to something Chloe would not just think, but say out loud in her obnoxious verbage.

“What do you think about that?”

Once again, her eyes seemed to gaze simultaneously through him and into him.There was a moment’s pause before she gave her clipped response.

“Way to take the fun out of it.”

There was a chuff under her breath before she left him leaning there, grateful for the lockers due to how off balanced she always seemed to leave him. He watched her disappear from sight around the locker corner, taking his vocal cords with him. Confusion seeped into him like the dredging of tea as more and more students moved past.

“Huh,” was all that escaped from his mouth as he was left to ponder what exactly had just happened.

———

Marinette couldn’t fault the young prince for being so… chatty. She supposed it would be his job to try and get to know her and her friends, but did he have to stick to her when she was in the middle of waiting for her prey to pass by? Not to mention he wanted to put her in some art class. Nathaniel may have gotten into all that easily enough, but she wouldn’t be taking any lessons from a teacher when she knew best herself on how to do her work.

Her work at that time, waiting for Sabrina to walk by between her classes, was hindered by Prince Adrien’s presence. Sabrina skittered by where Marinette stood keeping Adrien’s questions at bay before she disappeared into the bathroom just around the corner of the lockers. She had to end her current conversation quickly if she was going to put her plan into action. She looked at him as uninterestedly as possible before cutting whatever conversation they were having short.

“Way to take the fun out of it,” she told him before making her way towards the ladies room, leaving Prince Adrien to keep up conversations with someone more willing than she was at the moment.

She slipped into the bathroom just in time to see Sabrina washing her hands. She had to act quickly before she lost whatever opportunity she currently had.

“Hi!” Marinette inwardly cringed at how forced her cheeriness sounded, the foreignness of it in her mouth. “It’s Sabrina, right?”

Sabrina looked like a deer caught in the headlights, backed up against the sink and curled in on herself. She didn’t manage a verbal response, merely shaking her head yes.

Marinette twisted her fingers together nervously, her cheeks straining from the smile she wasn’t used to keeping up.

“Always loved that name. Sabrina,” she mused splaying her fingers out for emphasis.

“That’s cool,” Sabrina squeaked, scooting around Marinette with a healthy distance between them as she headed for the door.

“Don’t go!” Marinette found herself asking out of desperation, cursing at herself inwardly as Sabrina seemed to jump two feet in the air at her tone. This was not going the way she wanted it to. She lowered her hands to her sides, tapping them anxiously on her thighs to keep from doing anything else rash. Marinette sighed, trying to look downcast as she pretended to study the bathroom’s marble floors.

“I guess I was just kind of hoping to make a friend,” Marinette said in a quiet tone. That’s what most Auradon people wanted, right? To make friends? “You probably have all the friends you need though, huh?”

Whatever nonsense she said seemed to have worked on Sabrina. The tension in her shoulders eased and her expression softened to where she didn’t look nearly as scared as she seemed to perpetually be.

“Hardly,” Sabrina said in a quiet voice.

“Really?” Marinette said, attempting to sound incredulous. “I mean, with your mom being Fairy Godmother and headmistress? Not to mention your own… personality.”

Sabrina drew closer to Marinette, waving her hands in exasperation at whatever injustice she was perceiving against her. “I don’t care about that! I’d rather be pretty. You’ve got great hair.”

Bingo. There was Marinette’s in if she ever heard one. Now for the follow through.

She rummaged through her book bag, fingers brushing along the spines of textbooks and notebooks until she felt the weathered, cracked leather of Circe’s spell book.

“You know what? I have just the thing for that,” Marinette quickly flipped through the spell book’s worn pages until she found a spell that could work for her. “It’s right… Ah, here.”

She pointed a painted finger in Sabrina’s direction and she saw Sabrina’s eyes widen in fear again as magic surged through Marinette’s body.

“Beware, forswear, replace the old with brand new hair,” Marinette commanded before drawing a star in the air, Sabrina’s head automatically following her pointing like a puppet on a string.

When the work was done, Sabrina lifted her head surrounded by auburn curls that curled around her face and fell down well past where her formerly shoulder length hair ended. She couldn’t have looked more like an Auradon Prep girl if she tried. She rounded on the mirror, her dinner plate wide eyes carefully scanning the work Marinette had done with a mixture of awe and surprise.

“Would you look at that,” Marinette said smugly, unable to hide her pleasure at having gotten just what she wanted. Sabrina was now wrapped around her finger. “You almost don’t notice your… other features anymore!”

Sabrina turned to her, looking desperate as she gestured to her face once more. “Do my nose!”

Marinette held up her hands to ward her off. She tried to look downcast despite being ready to spring her trap. “Oh, I can’t, Sabrina. I’ve been practicing, but you know, I can’t do really big magic.”

When Sabrina’s face fell in disappointment, Marinette saw her opportunity to get what she truly wanted.

“Not like your mom with her wand,” Marinette mentioned. “I mean, one swoosh from that thing and you could probably have whatever features you wanted.”

Sabrina groaned, tugging irritably at her long hair as her eyebrows creased together. “She doesn’t use the wand anymore. She believes the real magic in the books. And not the spell books either, regular books with history and stuff.”

The Isle teen couldn’t help the way her heart seemed to sink lower and lower in her chest with every word Sabrina said. So, Fairy Godmother didn’t even use her wand which meant it spent almost all its time in that stupid barrier with no easy way of getting it out.

“What a rip…” she muttered under her breath, wanting to say something, scream something, far worse than that. Still, Marinette couldn’t help but try one more shot at getting something more than just a dead end.

“You know, she used magic on Cinderella,” Marinette mentioned casually, hoping that if she aimed right she could at least get under Sabrina’s skin a bit more. “She wasn’t even her real daughter. Doesn’t she love you?”

That seemed to strike a nerve as Sabrina drew her arms up to hug herself, putting at least some barrier up between her and the other girl.

“Of course she does,” Sabrina said in a quiet voice, but Marinette could tell her heart wasn’t in it completely. “It’s… It’s just, you know, tough love. ‘Work on the inside, not the outside.’ You know, that sort of thing.”

Marinette actually didn’t have any idea about what she was talking about, but at least she could use her downcast state as momentum to drive it all home. She pointed at Sabrina suddenly, trying to capture that sorrow filled gaze she had.

“That’s the face!” She exclaimed as Sabrina looked at her quizzically. “Yeah, and then just look as if your… your heart is about to break.”

Marinette dipped her head, quivering her lip as she looked at Sabrina through the fringe of her dark bangs, trying to look as if she were on the verge of tears. “Oh, mother, I just don’t understand why you can’t make me beautiful, too.”

Marinette watched with internal glee as the idea dawned on Sabrina like an early morning sunrise.

“You think it would work?”

“Yeah,” Marinette confirmed, seeing the endgame in sight. “I mean, that’s what old Cindy did, right? And your mother Bibbidi-bobbidi-booed the living daylights out of her.”

She moved closer to Sabrina excitedly, fingertips pressed to her collarbone. “And, hey, if your mom does decide to, you know, break out the old wand, invite me.”

Sabrina grinned, just as excited as Marinette was but for entirely different reasons. She gathered up her belongings, clutching them to her chest as she moved for the bathroom door. “If I can convince mom, you’re so there.”

“Yay,” Marinette said, her joy genuine for once instead of forced.

Sabrina slipped past her for the door, waving animatedly as they said their goodbyes before Marinette was left alone in the ladies room.

“Thank you, Sabrina,” the Isle teen sneered. She shoved her spell book back into her bag, excited that for once, they were making progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now it’s time to play a little game called 
> 
> e m o t i o n a l
> 
> m a n i p u i a t i o n.


	9. Chapter 7

Alya had never gone to a real board certified school. All the lessons she had ever learned were in, as her dad would call it, ‘import and export of contraband items’ in and around the Isle of the Lost. She could steer a three-masted boat like a pro, knew how to test the quality of a gold dubloon by looking at it, and had more experience with a saber than most people twice her age could boast. She could read maps, mend sails and do just about anything it took to stay alive on an island built to test its inhabitants everyday.

She had never, however, had to attend something known as ‘World Geography.’

It was one of the few classes that she didn’t end up taking with Marinette, Kim or Nathaniel, leaving her with no one to talk to and way too much time on her hands to focus on her own personal mission. Marinette and their parents had their grand schemes, full of plans for world domination and grand wand theft. Alya, however, was more simple in her aspirations - like finding a prince, drawing him in, and robbing him blind of all his sweet treasure.

That’s what she was musing about that particular afternoon in the World Geography classroom. The sun was high, the classroom was warm, and the young pirate couldn’t find it in herself to even think of what their teacher, a severe looking woman named Ms. Mendeleiv, was squawking about. Instead, she did the next best thing of looking over her more bedazzled classmates. Sure, everyone at Auradon was rich in some form or fashion, but what Alya was looking for was the top of the heap. This particular afternoon, she finally narrowed down the suspect pool to one person in particular.

When Ms. Mendeliev had her back turned to the board, busy charting out a hideous looking map, Alya turned to a more reliable source of information.

“Oi, my little croissant,” Alya purred to the Frenchman sitting at the desk next to her. Nino jumped slightly in his seat, his glasses going askew with how fast his head snapped in her direction. Alya smirked slightly at the way his ears went pink and his eyes seemed to grow incredibly wide when she looked at him. When he spoke, his voice cracked and sputtered, making Alya want to laugh. “Y-yeah?”

Her gaze slid from Nino to the student in question. He sat two rows ahead of them, chewing on a mechanical pencil eraser and looking just as bored as everyone else in the classroom. He was dressed in cream colored slacks, a white button down with the sleeves rolled up and a purple vest over it. He had caramel colored skin, black hair and chocolate color eyes, and judging the gold rings that glittered on his pointer and ring finger, he had the means Alya was looking for in a mark.

Nino’s flustered expression boiled down to a simmering scowl at the back of the young man in question’s head. He rested an elbow on the music sheets he had been scribbling away on, his chin pressed to the heel of his palm. “That’s Wayhem, Princess Jasmine and Aladdin’s son. He got his parents’ looks but not a lot of Aladdin’s cunning if you catch my drift.”

“Sound perfect to me,” Alya replied, not paying attention to the way Ms, Mendeliev had set her sights on her and Nino’s whispered conversation.

“Ms. Alya,” Ms. Mendeliev said in her nasally tone, tapping her dry erase marker against her elbow with her arms crossed. “Maybe this is just a review for you. Tell me, what is the latitude and longitude of Cinderellaburg based on this particular map I’ve drawn?”

The young pirate blinked in surprise, all eyes on her and the mess she had found herself in.

This was fine, she told herself. Maps were nothing new and more than that, she wanted nothing more than to take that smug smile off the old lady’s face. If that meant getting up in front of her classmates to solve a problem she hadn’t been paying attention to, so be it.

It also didn’t hurt that her father’s compass was tucked safely away in her coat pocket, the perfect means of outsmarting the supposedly smart.

As she made her way down the rows of desks, she could feel the weight of her classmates’ gazes on her. They were like predators in that way, always waiting for the perfect moment to strike at someone’s weakness, and watching a classmate do something foolish at the front of the class would be a perfect spectacle.

She carefully fished her compass from her pocket, hiding it in the palm of her non dominant hand as she came up to the board and took Ms. Mendeliev’s outstretched marker.

“Let’s see,” Alya mused, thinking of a way to pose her question in the best way possible for the compass. “How do I find the latitude and longitude of Cinderellaburg…”

The compass hummed in her hand as the needle whirled. There was a clicking noise before the odd little device projected a longitude and latitude point onto the inner glass of the compass face.

“Based on the latitude and longitude lines provided… the exact coordinates for Cinderellaburg is 52.3555 degrees North by 1.1743 degrees West,” Alya said definitively as she wrote out the coordinates in neat curled script.

The room went quiet after that, Ms. Mendeliev’s face souring as she examined Alya.

“I forget…” the older woman said. “Always a mistake to underestimate -“

“A villain?” Alya dropped the marker onto the tray below the whiteboard with a simpering sweet smile on her face. “Don’t make it again.”

Her classmates watched in total silence as the young pirate made her way back to her seat with a certain spring in her step. There was always a certain thrill in outsmarting the supposedly smart, especially when they wished to make her look foolish. She hoped the spectacle would help her put an itch in the skin of her particular target, but only time would tell if that were true.

When she returned to her seat, not only was Nino stirring there looking mildly astounded, but there was a neatly folded note sitting on her desk. Alya slid into the seat, plucking the note from its spot, as Ms. Mendeliev tried to get back on track with her class. Written in chicken scratch on the inside was a phone number and signed ‘Wayhem.’

Everything according to plan.

———

Adrien wasn’t sure what to expect when Nathaniel agreed to meet him on the Tourney Field during their free period. He could agree with coach that Nathaniel wasn’t really build for the defensive side of Tourney, but he couldn’t be useless either. He was bright, creative and seemed to be curious about everything that was Auradon. They just had to get him up to speed on it.

The Prince stood in workout clothes on the track, holding his ankle to stretch as Nathaniel changed in the locker rooms. There was a sharp slamming of the locker door and Adrien pulled out his stopwatch.

“Okay, Nathaniel. We’re gonna do some sprints. You ready?” Adrien called only to hear the sharp thumping of feet on grass as a red headed blur took off down the field, a small black figure behind him.

“Nathaniel? Nathaniel!” Adrien shouted as Nathaniel disappeared off the other side of the field. Adrien had no choice but to drop everything and take off after, stopwatch and water bottle abandoned on the track.

He jogged down the forest trail, the distinct cry of Nathaniel farther down path growing louder and louder as he approached a large tree where Nathaniel had crawled up onto one of the lower branched. Circling at its base was an all too familiar figure, a black cat.

“Nathaniel!” The young Prince jogged up to the tree where the Isle Teen clung desperately.

“Adrien? Adrien!” Nathaniel squeaked from the tree as Adrien bent over panting with his hands on his knees. Man, this kid was fast.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. No need to freak out, Nathaniel.” Adrien assured as he scooped up the furry black animal from the forest floor. The stray black cat purred under his touch and Adrien couldn’t help but smile as the animal rubbed against his neck.

Nathaniel practically bristled like a cat himself from up in the tree.

“Don’t touch it! That thing is a killer! He chased me down and it’s gonna rip out your throat!”

Adrien couldn’t help but look at him with wide pale green eyes, mirroring the cat in his arms wide-eyed stare.

“Who told you that?” He asked in an incredulous tone, having never heard such ramblings before about a common cat.

Nathaniel looked almost bashful as he ducked his chin to his chest with his lips pressed together.

“M-my mother…” the worlds tumbled from his mouth.

“The Queen of Hearts?” Adrien blinked as he tried to recall the story of the Queen of Hearts. Wasn’t there some mention of a cat…?

“She’s a cat expert,” Nathaniel said in a slightly defensive tone before gesturing wildly at the cat still perfectly content in Adrien’s arms like a limp doll. “Why are you holding him? He could claw your eyes out!”

Adrien sighed, hefting the sleepy feline into a better carrying position as he stared up at the Isle teen.

“Nathaniel,” Adrien said in a quiet tone, hoping not to provoke him to go on the defensive. “You’ve never actually met a cat, have you?”

The silence was palpable in the following moments before the response came.

“Of course I haven’t,” the redhead muttered. “Mother would never put me in such danger.”

Adrien gave him a soft smile, gently gesturing for him to climb down from his lofty perch. After much coaxing and cajoling, Nathaniel eventually found himself backed against a tree, the fear on his face evident now that he was back within the cat’s range.

“Plagg, meet Nathaniel,” Adrien said, looking down at the cat in his arms before looking back at Nathaniel. ”Nathaniel, this is Plagg. He’s the campus stray, and happens to be the world’s biggest cheese snob.”

Adrien carefully held one of Plagg’s silky black paws up, moving it up and down to mimic a wave.

“Hello, Nathaniel,” Adrien said in a baby-like tone, acting as though he were speaking for his animal companion. “Nice to meet you!”

That managed to get a mild laugh from Nathaniel and Adrien knew he had him.

“He doesn’t look like a vicious killer…” Nathaniel admitted. He shook his head, seeming to laugh at himself and at the silliness of his own fear. “Wow…”

Moving slowly, like approaching a spooked animal, Adrien placed Plagg into Nathaniel’s arms and watched with satisfaction as the frightened teen turned to a puddle of affection. Plagg curled instinctively into the crook of Nathaniel’s arms, purring as he rubbed his head along his forearm while his black tail flicked back and forth. Nathaniel’s shoulders started to drop as the tension eased in him.

“You seem like a good boy,” Nathaniel almost crooned to Plagg as he scratched under the cat’s chin. “You are. You’re a good boy.”

His tone was bittersweet and Adrien couldn’t help but feel his heart ache in his chest. Somehow, telling a cat it was a good boy shouldn’t be so full of longing. Had Nathaniel, or any of the Isle kids for that matter, ever really been praised?

“I guess you guys have it pretty rough on the island,” Adrien murmured before he could stop himself. He hadn’t meant to bring it up at all, especially when it was something so personal.

Nathaniel didn’t seem bothered by Adrien’s implications, his smile just growing a bit sadder as Plagg pressed his cheek into the re head’s hand affectionately. “Yeah. Let’s just say we don’t get a lot of chin scratches.”

Adrien felt the need to rectify that immediately, a hand flying up to Nathaniel’s shoulder to give it a firm pat.

“Good boy,” the Prince said. When Nathaniel looked at him strangely, Adrien realized what he had said.

“I mean, you’re a good runner,” Adrien stammered, attempting to cover up the slip-up. He clapped his hands together, hoping to ease out of the awkward situation they had found themselves in as quickly as he could. “You’re… you’re really fast, you know.”

 _Oh yes, that was smooth as could be_ , Adrien chastised himself.

“Listen,” Adrien interjected before Nathaniel could further his humiliation with how this was going. “I’m gonna give you guys some space, yeah? You guys get to know each other and just, you know, come find me when you’re done, okay?”

Nathaniel blinked aqua colored eyes at him, slowly processing all that Adrien had just said before he cracked a small smile, nodding.

“Okay,” he said, his arms seeming to tighten around the ball of black fur in his arms.

“I’ll see you later,” Adrien said, slowly backing away from the boy and cat to head up the trail. As he heard Nathaniel’s soft words to Plagg fade away into the chirps and chatter of the forest background noise, the Prince knew that he had made the right decision in bringing the Isle teens to Auradon. There was healing to be done, and he was more than happy to give his fellow students a safe place to try and do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things: 
> 
> 1\. Writing Wayhem flirting with Alya? Awful. It made me so uncomfortable let me tell you. 
> 
> 2\. Nathaniel and Plagg bonding? Wholesome. Worth writing Alya flirting with Wayhem.


	10. Chapter 8

When Wayhem asked to meet Alya under the bleachers, she had a strong suspicion it wasn’t for a ‘get to know her' meet up. She had said yes to the offer though purely because she didn’t want to get to know Wayhem either, just the balance of his family's bank account.

They were facing one another, each leaning on a crossbeam when they met up during a passing period. Wayhem was wearing a winning smile and an expensive watch that caught Alya’s eye, and trying his hardest to get her to melt under his every word.

“Is everyone at home as pretty as you?” Alya tried not to cringe under the way he looked at her, especially seeing that he was slightly shorter than she was.

She put on her sweetest smile, hoping she could hook him with her own saccharine charm.

“I like to think that I’m a step above the rest of them. As precious as gold,” she crooned before pressing for the more pressing details. “How many rooms in your castle?”

Wayhem scoffed at the question like every kid born with a silver spoon in their mouth would.

“Too many to count!” There was a look in his eye as he finally looked at her again, something that suggested he wanted more than just a conversation.

“You really nailed that World History problem today. You’re gonna have all the nerds in love with you.”

There it was.

“I’m not that smart,” Alya said casually.

_Acting smarter than a target wouldn’t help get you in the door_ , her father would say. _Let them think they’re in control._

“Oh, come on,” Wayhem scoffed again.

“No, really, I’m not,” Alya pressed.

_Easy, Alya, don’t reel in before you have them hooked._

“I just happen to have an advantage on the rest,” Alya said, fishing through her pockets and pulling out her father’s compass.

“See this? If I ask it where something is, it tells me.”

Wayhem looked at the compass like it were a solid gold doubloon instead of a beat up pirate trinket.

“Really?” He asked with renewed curiosity, swiping the compass from Alya’s hand before she knew it happened. Maybe he had Aladdin’s thieving skills even if he didn’t have his brains. “Where’s my cell phone?”

Alya swiped it back quickly, trying to cover the panic that seemed to take over the moment her father’s compass left her hand. “It won’t work for you, silly.”

Wayhem didn’t seem to notice, merely shrugging despite the loss of his phone. “No biggie. My dad will just get me a new one.”

_There it was. A way in._

“Aladdin, right? And Princess Jasmine?”

“Yeah,” he said, his nose raised and pride oozing off of him.

“All that magic and power…” Alya said, her tone wistful and full of contrite longing. “Almost as powerful as the Fairy Godmother. Hey, I heard her wand is in some boring museum. Do they always leave it there?”

Wayhem’s eyes look down, leaning full against beam of the bleachers. He threw his head back dramatically, like one of those posh perfume ads that they liked to make fun of back on the Isle. He wanted something now, and Alya knew it.

“I’d really like to talk, but…” he said in a tired tone of voice. “I’m just swamped.”

He suddenly turned toward her, as if an idea had suddenly come to him when Alya could tell he had been sitting on it for a while.

“Unless…”

“Unless?” Alya prodded.

“If you could knock all my homework out along with yours, then maybe we could get together sometime and… hang.”

The thought made her want to gag.

“Okay,” Alya said. If he wanted his homework done, that doesn’t mean she had to do it well. He just needed to pass, and she just needed some bank account numbers.

He winked at her, all full of charm and pomp. “Thanks, babe.”

Alya bid him farewell and only relaxed once Wayhem was out of sight. Robbery was a lot harder than she was hoping it would be.

She was so engrossed in her schemes and ideas that she didn’t notice a familiar Frenchmen come ambling up behind her.

“I couldn’t help but overhear…” Nino said casually, making Alya jump in alarm and reaching for her hip saber that wasn’t there. She clenched her fists, trying to hide her surprise as she turned to face him. He had a trumpet case in one hand and his book bag thrown over his shoulder. He still looked as flustered as ever in her pretense, but at least he wasn’t stuttering.

“Are you stalking me?” Alya snapped, trying to hide the fact that he had managed to sneak up on her in the first place. If Kim ever found out, she would never hear the end of it.

Nino pressed his lips together, deep in thought as he looked up at the noonday sky.

“Technically… yes,” He said honestly before quickly moving past the fact that he had been tailing her all day. “I, too, have a fascination with Fairy Godmother’s wand.”

“Okay.”

“It’s another reason I look forward to the coronation.” The coronation. Suddenly, Alya had a deeper interest in the conversation at hand.

Nino eased his way closer to her, looking hesitant as he chewed his lip. “Perhaps we could sit next to each other and discuss its attributes.”

“Are you saying they us it in the coronation?” Alya asked, not guessing at Nino’s intentions. If she and her friends were going to get the wand like their parents wanted… that could be the way in. If they could only figure out how.

Nino nodded, all the confirmation she needed. “Yea. And asking you out?”

For the first time in her life, Alya found herself speechless.

———

Marinette wasn’t sure how a simple conversation in the bathroom could turn into an afternoon with Sabrina hanging off Marinette’s bed post like a drama star. She was in the middle of complaining about the one subject that the Isle teen thought she’d want to hear about, Fairy Godmother, but an hour later, she couldn’t bring herself to pay attention to all the teen angst.

“Mom said, ‘if a boy can’t see the beauty within, then he’s not worth it,’” Sabrina whined, her head leaned back against the bed post as she sulked. “Can you believe it? What world does she live in?”

“Auradon,” Marinette said plainly. Anyone with lofty ideals like that has to come from fairy princess land like the one she found herself in. She scratched away in her sketchbook, swirls of lines and patterns of a dress she was hoping to put together later. Auradon had the best of fashion resources, she might as well take advantage of them.

Alya sat on Marinette’s bed, watching as her friend worked away at her dreams despite never thinking she could live up to them. “That looks awesome, Mari.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, it’ll bring out your eyes.”

“I’ll never get a boyfriend” Sabrina continued to whine, clearly not wanting to discuss anything else.

From where she lay on her bed, Marinette huffed her bangs from her eyes with a somewhat annoyed look on her face. “Boyfriends are overrated.”

Alya laughed, head back and full of mirth. “How would you know, Mari? You’ve never hat one!”

“It’s ‘cause I don’t need one. They’re a waste of time.”

“Rotten apples,” Alya suddenly cursed under her breath, quickly getting up from Marinette’s bed to walk over to her disheveled looking desk. “I forgot to do Wayhem’s homework.”

“And that is exactly what I mean.”

“It’s the persistent fisherman that get’s the fish, Mari!” Alya said smugly as she sat down with her World History book. “And I really think a golden lamp would look good back in our apartment on the Isle, don’t you?”

Before Marinette could tell her that Wayhem probably didn’t have the genie’s lamp with him at school, there was a knock at the door.

Standing in the doorway was a lovely Asian girl in a red and black kimono dress, a gold dragon curling up the sleeves and chest over cherry blossoms. Her raven hair was pulled back from her face in a severe looking top knot and she didn’t smile as she looked over the girls relaxing in the suite.

“I’m Kagami,” she said flatly, eyes darting from one face to another. When she didn’t see any recognition in their faces, she continued. “My mom’s Mulan? No?”

When no one rose to claim the resemblance, she sighed and walked further into the room, closing in on Marinette much to her chagrin. “Anyways, I admire what you’ve done with Sabrina’s hair. And while I know you hate us here on Auradon, I was hoping you could do mine.”

Marinette blinked in surprise, “Why would I do that for you?”

“I’ll pay you 50 dollars,” Kagami offered, holding up her drawstring clutch like a prize.

“Good answer,” Alya said, suddenly at Kagami’s side with a hungry look in her eye. She made quick work of pulling Kagami’s hair from its knot and letting it hang limply around her shoulders. “I’m thinking we loose the length, maybe add some layers and some highlights?”

“I don’t think so,” Kagami countered, turning to look at Marinette instead. “I want something like Marinette’s hair. Something cool.”

“The split ends, too?” Alya said flatly before looking at her best friend. She held up the purse of money, shaking it to emphasize that they had already accepted payment, now it was time for the service.

Marinette huffed in defeat, rolling from her bed to fish through her book bag. She emerged with Circe’s spell book in hand and leaned up against her nightstand as she flipped through page after page. With some simple modification to the spell she used on Sabrina, Marinette knew what to do.

“Okay… “Beware, forswear, replace the old with cool hair,” Marinette chanted, pointing at Kagami. Kagami’s head followed Marinette’s pointed finger and when she raised her head again she had a much cuter bob with bangs that framed her sharp features. The young woman turned to the full length mirror that sat beside Marinette’s hutch with wide eyes. Alya patted her shoulder in understanding, as if Kagami were in mourning.

“I know, I know. It looks like a mop on your head.” Marinette rolled her eyes at Alya’s dramatics. She thought it looked perfectly fine. “We’re just going to have to wait for it to grow out and try it again. There won’t be a refund of course, all deals made in Alya and Marinette’s room are final.”

“No!” Kagami interrupted in a fit of passion that Marinette wasn’t expecting. She fingered the short ends of her hair with a smile that seemed to light up her face. “I love it.”

“You do?” Marinette and Alya said in unison, each surprised in their own right.

“It’s just…” Kagami said with furrowed brow, looking down to examine her dress. In an abrupt tear, Kagami made a new slit in her dress, something that caught the Isle teens in complete surprise. Kagami looked at herself in the mirror with a smile and a glint in her eye that Marinette could have sworn was the thrill of doing something wrong. “Now I’m cool.”

“Like ice,” Marinette said with a smirk pulling at her lips.

Sabrina came to stand next to Kagami and the same sort of crazed look in her eye had taken over like it had Kagami before she too reached down and tore a slit in her dress. The action must have brought her to her senses, her hands flying up to cover her mouth at the shock of it all.

“What did I just do?” She whispered to herself, hands shaking. “Mom’s gonna kill me!”

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh, louder and longer than she had since coming to Auradon. If this kept up, she might actually have an effect on these preppy school girls, something that sent a thrill down her spine. If the wand didn’t work out, at least she could give Auradon a good sense of fashion and hair styling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iiiii don't know what day it is so this is a weird Thursday update instead of Wednesday. 
> 
> Time for KAGAMI and AWKWARD WAYHEM FLIRTING.


	11. Chapter 9

It was after afternoon practice had ended when Kim finally had time to sit down with Coach D’Argencourt on the bleachers of the tourney field. Cheerleaders lined up for practice as players made their ways to the locker rooms for a cold shower and the sun started its descent towards the horizon. Kim was supposed to be meeting up with his friends to talk wand stuff, but sitting down the the coach seemed like it wouldn’t take that long. They could wait a minute or two.

“I could use a tough guy like you,” the coach said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “The team’s a bunch of princes, if you know what I mean.”

Kim howled at the insinuation. “You’re telling me. It’s all, ‘after all, old chum. Oh, pardon me, did I bump into you?’”

Kim gave the coach a wolfish grin that made the coach lean back some. “Where I come from, it’s ‘prepare to die, sucker.’ Courtesy won’t get you very far on the streets.”

The Isle teen rose from his seat, his tone taking on a fever pitch as he echoed lessons long beaten into his bones. “As my father says, ‘the only way to win is to make sure everyone else loses!’”

The coach reached up to grab the young man’s forearm as he continued to ramble off phrases and ideals that made people from Auradon a bit uncomfortable.

“Kim! Kim, Kim, Kim!” Coach D’Argencourt yelled over Kim as he pulled him back into a seated position beside him. “That’s not how a team works.”

By the blank expression on Kim’s face, Coach D’Argencourt had a feeling that teamwork wasn’t something that was encouraged on the Isle of the Lost.

“Let me explain a team. It’s, um, like a family.”

“You do not want to be at my house at dinner time,” Kim said in a dark tone. Coach D’Argencourt chose to push past the insinuations and fought for an analogy that the young man could possibly understand.

“Alright… You know how the body has a lot of different parts?” The teen nodded. If it was one thing he seemed to understand best it was the physicality of fighting. “Well, the legs, arms, ears, they’re all separate from one another in the tasks that they do, but they still need each other. That’s what a team is. Different players, coming together to work as a body to win. Does that make any sense, dear boy?”

The concept seemed to connect with Kim like the coach had hoped, though his answer wasn’t something he was expecting.

“Can I be the fist?” Kim asked, holding up his own beat up hand as an example.

It was the coach’s turn to laugh, patting the young man on the shoulder with a nod of his head. “Yes, dear boy. You can be the fist.”

———

It was into the early evening when Kim finally came barging into the room that he shared with Nathaniel. Alya and Marinette had their things spread out on the table while Nathaniel was sat up on his bed tapping away at his tablet with what looked like a black cat curled up beside him.

Kim was decked out in the new jersey that Coach D’Argencourt had given him that afternoon, his name and number emblazoned on the back of the purple fabric.

“Yo!” He howled with a grin, flexing his arms while Alya and Nathaniel clapped politely to congratulate him.

“Congrats, Kim!” Nathaniel said with a thumbs up. “All that brawn and no brain finally came in handy.”

Kim rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore his smarmy roommate and making his way over to where Marinette sat flipping desperately through her spell book. He rested his hands on the table top, looking over her shoulder at the runic signs and curled script.

“Did your plan work with Jane?” He asked as she continued flipping. “Are you going to see the wand?”

“Do you think I would be going through every spell in this book if I hadn’t completely struck out?” Marinette hissed irritably through clenched teeth as she continued flipping, her opposite hand rubbing at her temples.

Kim let out a low whistle as he backed away from the smaller teen, leaning back with his arms crossed against his bedpost. “Someone’s in a bad mood.”

“Because my dad is counting on me!” Marinette shouted, catching her friends by surprise as she leapt up from her chair. She turned to face Kim with a cold fire in her icy blue eyes. “I can’t let him down!”

“We won’t! We can do this!” Kim countered. His sudden group mentality, the blatant use of the word ‘we’, was shocking. They knew Gaston, knew that he hadn’t raised Kim to be anything but a lone player against the world with lackeys to fetch and carry for him. Judging by the look in his eye, Kim was surprised at his turn in behavior as well.

“We can do this… If we stick together.”

Marinette’s shoulders fell, all the adrenaline from yelling at Kim leaving her body. She couldn’t afford to stay mad at her friends right now, they were the only allies she really had here.

“And we won’t go back until we do,” she said resolutely, looking from friend to friend. “Because we’re rotten.”

“To the core,” the other three echoed. They stood there, each mulling over the weight of the promise they made to their parents, when Kim finally spoke up.

“Now are we gonna talk about the cat, or is that just something no one’s going to explain to me?”

———

Marinette wasn’t sure how all of their plans tended to happen in the hallway. She had gotten ahold of Sabrina in this hallway, and now she was going to corner Adrien here. Knowing his friendly tendencies, there wouldn’t be any doubt that he would try to approach her at some point. It was just after lunch when he finally found her at her locker, still bright and cheery as always.

“Hey, Marinette,” he greeted, still leaned up on the lockers with one shoulder, hands dug into his trouser pockets. “I didn’t see you guys today. I was just wondering if you had any questions or anything…that… you needed…?”

Marinette closed her locker, feigning thought as she copied his mannerisms by leaning her shoulder on her locker door. “Nothing that I can think of… though I did happen to hear a rumor, but it’s probably nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

“Wait, what is it?” Adrien asked, leaning forward eagerly at the thought of finally answering a VK’s question concerning everything Auradon.

“Well… is it true that we all get to go to your coronation?”

“Yeah, the whole school goes,” Adrien confirmed.

“Wow,” Marinette said, her tone full of forced admiration and awe. “That is beyond exciting. Do you think that it’s a possibility that, I don’t know, the four of us could stand in the front row next to Fairy Godmother? Just so we could soak up all that goodness and stuff.”

Adrien’s excitement waned to an apologetic smile.

“I wish you could,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders in that effortless way that all upper class people seemed to do. “Up front it’s just me, my folks, and my girlfriend.”

“Your girlfriend,” Marinette echoed, her brain racing a mile a minute to try and figure out how she could turn this all around to her favor. It was only when Adrien started to back away that a rather twisted idea struck her.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Marinette,” he said, practically bowing to her as he spoke. “It’s still going to be a great day though. I’m sure you all can soak up that, what did you call it, goodness, somehow.”

“Okay. Thanks, bye.”

“Wait, no, there’s still plenty of-“ Marinette never heard the rest of what Adrien had to say. She couldn’t afford to lose her train of thought on mindless conversation at the moment, merely speed walking away from the confused royal and into the girls bathroom where she had first cornered Sabrina.

Alya was leaned up against the countertop looking at her nails when Marinette finally appeared.

“Coast clear?” The blue-haired girl asked.

“You know it,” Alya responded, standing up straight and gesturing to the empty stalls. “The second they saw a VK in here, everyone seemed to stop needing to powder their noses. What’d you find out?”

“That the only people who get to sit front and center to the action are the prince, his parents and his girlfriend.”

Alya’s lip curled in disgust. “That blonde with the gum problem? Aren’t they afraid she might blow a bubble and get it all over the prince or something?”

“They won’t be after we’re done with him,” Marinette said in a sly tone, a knowing smile curling her lips. “I think it’s time that Adrikins got himself a new girlfriend. Grab the boys. Tonight we get one step closer to leaving.”

———

The dorm kitchen didn’t look anything like what any of them would guess a kitchen used by students would be. Every thing was stainless steel, from the appliances to the countertops and everything in between. This was the place that five star meals should be made for royalty, but instead there were four teens trying to make cookies.

Marinette was a crafty teenager by anyone’s definition, and cooking up a love spell in a cookie recipe was no problem save for the weird ingredients.

“Alright,” the blue-haired girl mused over her mixing bowl as she skimmed the love spell ingredients in her spell book. “It says that we still need one tear, and I never cry.”

“Let’s just chop up some onions,” Nathaniel offered from where he and Kim sat on the island swinging their legs.

“No. It says that we need one tear of human sadness. This love potion gets the best results so we have to follow it exactly, which means no onions.”

“A tear’s a tear, what’s the difference,” Kim inquired as he twirled a whisk between his fingers.

“That’s not true,” Alya said, scrolling through her own tablet where the cookie recipe was displayed. “According to Witchypedia, they both have antibodies and enzymes, but an emotional tear has more protein-based hormones than a reflex tear.”

Kim scoffed despite having dropped his whisk. “Yeah, well, I knew that.”

“Did not,” Nathaniel corrected.

“Yeah, I did,”

“No, you didn’t.”

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen swung open, sending the teens into an abrupt panic and Marinette slamming her spell book face down onto the counter. In the doorway, looking perplexed, Kagami stood in a set of cherry blossom pajama pants and an Auradon Fencing shirt. Her sharp eyes darted from one face to another before finally landing on Marinette.

“There you are, Marinette,” Kagami said in a quiet tone, her intense gaze never wavering from Marinette. The Isle teen assumed it was a woman warrior thing she learned form her mom, but it still managed to unnerve her some. “You know, all of the girls want you to do their hair-“

She suddenly glanced down at the bowl of batter sitting before Marinette with a curious look in her eye that made her almost seem human. “Midnight snack, huh? What are you making?”

“Nothing special, just cookies -“ Marinette started only to choke on her words.

Kagami had gone and dipped her finger in her the potion spiked cookie batter.

There was a flurry of shrieks and clamoring to stop her, but the deed was done with the flick of her wrist. She looked at the panicked teenagers with furrowed brow as she pulled her finger from her mouth.

“What?” She said defensively, lowering her hand and hunching her shoulders some. “I’m not gonna double dip.”

“Do you… feel anything?” Alya asked, her voice full of apprehension as to what her answer would be.

“Yeah, like maybe it might be missing something…?” Marinette added.

There was a beat of panic where no one said anything. It was Kim who managed to react first. He slinked away from his perch beside Nathaniel on the island to lean suggestively against the countertop. He had what looked like an attempt at a seductive expression on his face as he looked at Kagami.

“Hey,” he crooned with a half-lidded stare.

Much to their relief and discomfort, Kagami didn’t seem to swoon like the potion said she would which made the entire situation that much more uncomfortable to the point it was palpable. Guess it needed that tear after all.

“It could use some chips,” Kagami said plainly, nudging Kim aside as she headed to the pantry.

“Chips?” Kim inquired as Kagami rummaged through the ingredients kept in the pantry until eventually pulling out a bag filled of what looked like brown bits.

“And those are…” Marinette drawled, drawing a blank as to what Kagami was holding as she came back over to the counter.

“Chocolate chips. Just the most important food group,” Kagami said definitively as she mixed in the chocolate chips into their cookie batter. She looked at the VK’s and saw their blank expressions and her sudden joy over chocolate turned to mild desperation.

“Didn’t your moms ever make you guys chocolate chip cookies?” She asked. “When you’re sad, and they’re fresh from the oven with a big glass of milk. She makes you laugh and puts everything into perspective and…”

She faltered when she saw how the others looked at her. The Isle teens’ expressions were full of confusion and longing, something that Kagami couldn’t have expected after a heartfelt speech like that.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Marinette looked down at her cookie dough mix with downcast eyes, slowly starting to fold the chocolate chips in more thoroughly than Kagami had.

“It’s just different where we’re from,” she muttered, feeling the distinct contrast between her and the girl in the cherry blossom pajamas more harshly than before. She could only dream of homemade cookies. The best her dad did was just give her a chunk of burnt meat he scorched himself, and her friends could boast no better.

“Yeah, I know,” Kagami said with her nervous smile and half-hearted laugh. “I just, you know, I thought… Even villains love their kids.”

When the Isle teens’ failed to voice their doubts, to come to the aid of their parents when it came to their rearing capabilities, Kagami’s smile finally fell.

“Oh…” her voice quavered as she reached out to lay her hand on Marinette’s. Her eyes watered as she fought her lip quiver. “How awful.”

When a tear finally broke free of her eye, full of heart break at the human tragedy that was her new classmates, Marinette was quick to swipe it from her cheek and slip it into her cookie batter.

“Yeah, well, big bummer, but we have to get these into the oven, so thank you so much for coming by,” Marinette babbled, rounding the counter to start pushing Kagami towards the kitchen door. They had all they needed for the spell now and she really didn’t want the young woman to try sticking her finger in it again. “Really, really have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow, ‘kay? Evil dreams and all that.”

“Alright, goodnight guys,” Kagami managed to get in before the kitchen door was quickly closed behind her. Marinette sank against the door as her anxieties were relieved, her head leaned back against the dark wood.

It only took her a moment to gather herself before Marinette clapped her hands together to refocus not only herself, but her friends on the task at hand.

“Now that that’s done, we’ve got cookies to make,” she declared before doling out orders like a drill sergeant. “Boys, cookie sheets. Alya, oven.”

The boys leapt into action, frantically searching for the cookie sheets while Alya managed a smirk before offering a two fingered salute. “Aye aye, Captain Cookie.”

Marinette smirked, looping her arm through her friend’s and poking her in the side. “And don’t you forget it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was in high school, it was pot in the banana bread during band practice. Love spells in cookies seems to be an entirely new direction.
> 
> Diabolical Plans and Tragic Backstories feat. Kagami crying???


	12. Chapter 10

Whoever wrote ‘heavy is the burden that wears the crown’ clearly hasn’t had to carry a box of potion-spiked cookies in their backpack all day. Marinette could feel her palms sweat profusely as they gripped the strap of her bag. Every time she reached in to pull out a pencil or to put something away, a small voice in her head said that someone is bound to know about the cookies. Maybe it was the lack of sleep they got from baking, or the amount of coffee she had drank that morning in order to stay awake, but she felt as if her bones were buzzing as she got up to go look for Adrien.

Kim shared her chemistry class and stuck close to her as the students filed out into the hallway.

“What’s with the face?” He asked, leaning down so no one could hear them.

“What face? This is my face,” she countered, pouting slightly as they turned onto the outside corridor where their lockers were.

“You look like you’re going to be sick, and somehow you’re paler than normal,” Kim commented as they came up on Marinette’s locker. She quickly pulled out the tin of cookies and hid it away in her locker, a sudden weight off of her shoulders.

Kim leaned back against the lockers beside her open one, watching as girls out on the green waved and fawned over Marinette as if she were a royal like they were.

“Look, it’s Marinette!” One waved and giggled from the picnic table.

“Hi Marinette,” another cried, flipping her long brown waves with a bright smile plastered across her face. “Love my hair!”

Marinette managed a small wave of her fingers towards them, unused to and not entirely enjoying the sudden popularity she got from magicking some of the students’ hair. After Kagami, the princesses came running along with their money, and with Alya’s insatiable treasure lust… Marinette couldn’t say no.

“Are you feeling kind of weird about this?” Marinette’s head snapped toward Kim. He was gazing out over the well kept lawns and the prim and proper students that seemed to float about like fairies. His face was calm, completely out of the ordinary for him, and his eyes seemed to be full of an unhindered longing that set Marinette on edge.

“I mean,” he said in a quiet voice, barely audible over the hustle of other students around them. “It’s not so bad here, you know.”

Marinette suddenly slammed her locker door shut, palm flat against the cold metal. She bared her teeth at Kim with a wild look in her eye, causing the taller teen to lean back some in spite of being larger than her.

“Are you insane?” Her voice was cold and harsh as she scolded him. “Long live evil! You’re mean! You’re awful! You’re bad news! Snap out of it!”

There was a beat of silence between them before Kim blinked rapidly, as if doused by a cold bucket of water as their mission in Auradon came back to him. He took a deep breath, running a hand through his blonde tips.

“Yeah. Thanks, Marinette,” Kim breathed, giving his head a firm shake. “I needed that. Still good to go?”

“Of course. I’m a professional, remember?” Marinette said, full of false confidence despite the way she wiped her hands on her skirt.

“Alright. If you need an assist, just signal,” Kim reminded her before meandering over to the corridor rail to flirt with the girls that tended to fawn over tourney players.

While Marinette waited for an opportunity to set their plan in motion, further down the corridor Adrien was dealing with his own brand of stress and troubles.

“Do you think they actually paid for those?” Chloe hissed in disgust as she glowered down the corridor at Kim and his gaggle of girls. “As if they could, lower level royals.”

“Chlo, please,” Adrien murmured, feeling a headache start to take root at the base of his skull.

“She did it to Sabrina’s hair, too,” Chloe rolled her eyes. Clearly, she didn’t like someone who she considered to be her underling to suddenly be so popular because of Marinette’s help. “Fairy Godmother’s not happy about it, either. If this keeps up, the whole hierarchy will be thrown into the garbage.”

“What’s the harm?” Adrien asked, not seeing things as Chloe did. People were happy and getting along with the exchange students he had abruptly pushed upon them. Why was a little magic thrown into the mix so bad?

“Because it’s… it’s just ridiculous!” Chloe seethed. “It’s gateway magic! Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know it’s the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everyone looks good and then - “

She turned on Adrien like a whirlwind, a terrified look in her eye despite the ridiculousness of it all.

“Where will I be, Adrikins?” She asked desperately as she gripped Adrien’s forearms. He shrugged out of her grip easily to put her hands back down to her sides.

“Listen, Chloe…” he started only to have a manicured finger pressed to his lips.

“I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?” The way she phrased it made it all sound more like an order than a simple conversation about her afternoon plans.

“Okay,” Adrien said morosely as Chloe air kissed both of his cheeks.

“Bye, Adrikins,” Chloe chirped before she sashayed down the hall, the students parting before her as she passed.

Adrien turned and pressed his forehead to the cool steel of his locker, closing his eyes in an attempt to block out the frustration of Chloe’s attitude, the pressure of an upcoming coronation and all the responsibilities of being a prince and a student. Surely the universe would give him a moment, wouldn’t it?

Sadly, the universe these days didn’t seem to think that was a good idea.

“Hey, Adrikins!” Marinette said in a cheery falsetto that made Adrien jump.

Marinette smiled at him, trying not to laugh at the way he looked panicked at facing her. She wasn’t sure what he had been so deep in thought about, but making him jump like that sure was priceless.

The prince smoothed his jacket, his voice a bit shaky. “Hey, Marinette.”

“I just made a batch of cookies,” Marinette said, offering out her tainted treats with a saccharine sweet smile. She tilted the tin so he could get a good look at what was inside. “Double chocolate chip. You want one?”

Adrien chewed the inside of his cheek, glancing from the cookies to Marinette before wringing his hands in front of him. “Oh, I, uh, I’ve got a big game. I don’t eat before a big game.”

He started backing away and Marinette suddenly saw her opportunity slipping away. She wasn’t sure when she would see him next or how long the potion would stay potent. It had to be now or else they’d be stuck in Auradon trying to sneak Adrien treats until the coronation. How did the Evil Queen do it so easily?

There was one more angle she could try. She just had to hope he was as empathetic as she thought he was.

“But thank you so, so much, Marinette, I’m sure they’re great. Thank you. Next time, next time -“

“No, yeah, I completely understand,” The VK said, dropping her gaze to look at the cookies with a heavy sigh. “‘Be careful of treats offered by kids of villains.’”

Adrien’s face paled and Marinette knew he was right where she wanted him. He waved his hands pleadingly, “No, no, no -“

“No, I’m sure every kid in Auradon knows that.”

“No, that’s not it,” Adrien said placatingly, coming back into Marinette’s orbit and within range of her cookie tin. “No, no, no I… I really do…”

“No, I get it,” Marinette said as she plucked one of her own traitorous treats from the tin to hold up towards her mouth. “You’re cautious, that’s smart. Oh, well, more for me, I guess.”

Marinette didn’t have time to open her mouth before the cookie was snatched from her hand as Adrien still pleaded for her to believe him. He boldly took a large bite out of the cookie and Marinette couldn’t help the way her pulse skipped. It worked. He ate it.

“See that?” Adrien said with a smile as he chewed the sweet. “Totally trust you. Totally.”

“Well? How are they?” Marinette tried to keep the desperation from her voice, but she needed to know if the spell had actually worked or if this was all for nothing.

Adrien mulled over his cookie with that same charming smile.

“They’re good,” he said heartily. “They’re great! They’re amazing! They're, uh... I mean, they're chewy and, and you know, they... is that walnuts? I love walnuts.”

His voice started to stutter as he looked at her,his eyes going soft and Marinette wasn’t sure if they were just talking about cookies anymore. He shook his head as if to get rid of cobwebs that were cluttering his brain.

“I mean, uh, you know, the... The chocolate... The... the chocolate... The chocolate chips are... I'm sorry. Um... Uh, they're... They're warm and soft. And they're sweet... Marinette, have you always had those little silver flecks in your eyes?”

Kim had reappeared behind his teammate, gripping Adrien by the shoulder with a sly look in his eye. “How you feeling, bro?”

Adrien’s eyes never left Marinette’s face, and despite the clouded look in his expression, he managed to fight it off to offer a lopsided smile. It wasn’t the typical charming princely grin that graced the magazines and Marinette felt her heart skip a beat in spite of herself.

“I feel… I feel…” he started and stopped again and again before finally coming to his senses. “I feel like… Like singing your name.”

Marinette’s eyes widened and Kim looked like he wanted to laugh. Surely Adrien wouldn’t.

The prince took a deep breath before belting at the top of his lungs. “Marinette, Marinette!”

Kim quickly slapped a hand over his mouth as Marinette fought off the hot blush that had inflamed her cheeks.

“So…” Kim muttered as he kept a hand over Adrien’s mouth. “Think it worked?”

“Oh yeah,” Marinette responded as she quickly tucked the cookie tin back into her bag. “I definitely think it worked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'I Put a Spell on You' by Screaming Jay Hawkins plays in the background. 
> 
> It's time to get a bit... enchanted. It all gets real from here!


	13. Chapter 11.1

The Isle teens had never been to an organized sport event. Back on the Isle, it was more of a brawl type environment with no scheduling and a lot more violence than play books provided for. This made getting pressed against hundreds of students decked out in Auradon purple, screaming at the tops of their lungs rehearsed chants and motions all the more odd. Marinette was getting more and more claustrophobic with every wave of arms that went by in well-rehearsed unity.

Marinette and Alya watched from the stands with Kagami, both there to watch Kim and Nathaniel play and to see how the potion played out. It had been a few hours and besides wildly singing Marinette’s name in the hallway, there hadn’t been much noise about Adrien’s current situation concerning his love life. They needed him to choose Marinette instead of Chloe if they were ever going to get close enough to the wand. She was hoping if they went to the game, she would have a shot to talk to Adrien afterward. There was just the problem of sitting through the game to deal with.

“Oh ay, oh ay, oh!” The crowd roared in unison with the rise and fall of the school song for what felt like the millionth time that afternoon. Alya and Marinette huddled together as the other students bounced and cheered.

“I swear, if someone else hits me-“ Alya hissed as Marinette patted her arm. Clearly, organized sports was a harrowing experience for both of them.

“Just a bit longer. The game’s almost over anyways,” Marinette yelled in her ear over the jeering and shouting.

“This is a nail-biter, folks,” the announcer said over the loud speaker, an overly excited man by the name of Alec. “There’s 47 seconds left on the clock and we’re all tied up with the Sherwood Falcons and the Fighting Knights both having two points. What a game between Auradon’s fiercest rivals!”

Down on the field, Kim sat bouncing his knees on the bench next to a nervous looking Nathaniel. As Coach D’Argencourt called one player after another into the fray, Kim found himself itching to be a part of the action. Still, when he wasn’t picked to be put in yet, he couldn’t help but feel supportive of those who had been. Somehow, these snooty princes had managed to grow on him.

“Get ‘em, Wayhem,” Kim said, slapping the smaller eastern boy on the shoulder. Despite the way he stumbled forward due to impact, Wayhem didn’t glower at Kim. Instead, he gave him an approving nod, looking determined as he walked out on the field. “Thanks, Kim.”

Their timeout wasn’t over yet as both sides got reset on either side of the kill zone. Coach D’Argencourt looked at the lineup he had set up out on the field as a chess player would address his pieces. He pressed his lips together, motioning for one of the other players, a young man named Felix, the prince’s cousin.

“Felix!” He howled, “Switch out!”

The mirror image blonde jogged off the field as the coach turned to Kim with a bat in his hand. “You’re up, Kim.”

Nathaniel patted his shoulder with a gloved hand, probably glad he wasn’t chosen, but Kim couldn’t stand it. All week, Nathaniel had been sitting on the sidelines and hadn’t been allowed to contribute like Kim knew he could. He was smart, resourceful, and fast on his feet. The coach just needed to give him a shot. Why not now when there wasn’t much time to think on the choice?

Kim pressed his lips together before pulling Nathaniel to his feet, an arm thrown around his shoulder.

“Coach,” Kim said. “How about my buddy here?”

Coach D’Argencourt and Nathaniel both paled at the suggestion.

“Oh, no,” the coach told him, gripping the tourney bat in his hands tightly. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Coach, he’s been practicing,” Kim reminded him. The prince himself had been looking after Nathaniel’s extra practice and even Kim could see he had improved.

“Kim…” the Coach started in a voice that sounded like he was going to shut him down, but Kim didn’t get the chance.

“And you said yourself a team is made up of a bunch of parts,” Kim threw the older man’s words at him. “Well, Nath’s kinda like my brain.”

“Kim, I’m not that good -“ Nathaniel muttered, but Kim only squeezed his shoulder.

“C’mon, Coach,” Kim asked, his face set in his decision.

Coach D’Argencourt only considered the two young men for a moment before he growled in defeat.

“Fine…” the Coach said, pointing out onto the field with the tourney bat. “You heard him. Get out there!”

Kim grinned manically, shaking Nathaniel in excitement while Nathaniel shook with fright.

“Don’t worry, bro. I got your back,” Kim encouraged as he shoved his helmet on and took up his bat.

Nathaniel paused for a moment in walking to look at Kim with a half-lidded and clearly annoyed expression about the situation he had been put in.

“How about my front?” He asked before Kim laughed, shoving him into walking again.

“Pfft, get out there,” was all his friend said before they joined the line up on their side of the Kill Zone.

“Coach D’Argencourt is bringing out that hothead Kim in from the Isle of the Lost and that little guy Nathaniel that can barely hold a shield!” The announcer was losing it as the teams broke from their huddles and took up positions. The girls weren’t sure where he got his information about Kim and Nathaniel. They were just hoping that the boys both came out in one piece.

“And the tipoff is ready - here we go!” The crowd roared as the ball was put in play and both sides grappled to take possession. The shouting was concussive and only made worse by the combination of the pep band’s playing and Announcer Alec giving a play by play.

Down on the field, one of the Fighting Knights passed the ball off to Kim, only to be blocked by a Sherwood Falcon. Seeing an opening, he then passed off the ball to Adrien who carried it off across the field. An opposing team member was closing in only to be tripped by Nathaniel and his shield, sending the other man to the ground spread eagle. Kim didn’t miss the mocking jig that Nathaniel did over his felled opponent.

In the heat of the moment, Kim managed to acquire the ball back from Adrien and was heading straight into the line of fire in the Kill Zone. The Falcon’s dragoneer sent a volley of shots after Kim, only to have him expertly dodge every ball, going so far as to do a flip over one of the shots before charging forward once more.

“I’m open!” Adrien called. Kim looked his way before hurling the ball at his teammate who took it, only to be covered by a Falcon player. There was a grunt, and suddenly, Adrien was covered no more due to Wayhem’s block.

“Prince Adrien moves over wide, gives it back to Kim!” Alec shrieked over the PA system, holding his microphone in a death grip. “He’s in the clear shot - !”

Kim took a swing of his bat, sending the ball flying towards the goal only to have the Falcons’ goalkeeper hurl it back at him. The Sherwood students howled and cheered as Kim resisted the urge to break his bat over the goalkeeper’s back. Adrien appeared at his side, clapping him on the shoulder to reorient him.

“Come on, we can still do this!” The prince’s eyes were alive with the adrenaline of playing and Kim couldn’t stop himself from nodding, jogging after the prince to go and wait for the goalkeeper to put the ball back in play.

“23 seconds left, you could cut the tension with a sword, folks,” Alec commented as the goalkeeper for the Falcons swung his bat at the ball, sending it across the field to be received by Kim near the Knights goal.

The second charge across the field went much the same as the first. The ball was bounced between Kim and Adrien across the Kill Zone as Wayhem and the other players made sure there was no one in their way. Across the Kill Zone, Nathaniel suddenly had an idea.

“Kim!” He howled, catching the offensive player’s attention.

“Nath?” Kim replied before handing off the ball to his friend who immediately shot it up into the air by bouncing it off his shield. Nathaniel pointed his bat in the air, ready for action. “Go up! Adrien!”

The prince rounded on the other side of Kim as he used Nathaniel as a spring board, catching it with his bat before handing it off to Adrien. With a final swing of the prince’s bat, the ball was sent hurling towards the goal, just out of the goalkeeper’s reach as it went into the net.

There was a resounding roar from the Auradon side as the faces of the Sherwood students fell in defeat. Alya grabbed at Marinette’s arm so hard she thought it would bruise. The players rallied around one another as Coach D’Argencourt cheered and jumped on the sidelines with his assistant coach. Alec stood gripping the mic stand, full of exuberance as he still gave a play by play of the ensuing chaos while Marinette pressed her hands to her ears.

“And Prince Adrien has won it! What an unselfish play from Kim! And it’s the new guys, Kim and Nathaniel, who set up the prince for the win here. What a victory! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever!”

The players rounded on the sideline podium where Alec stood narrating, their waiting crowd screaming and cheering at decibels that made the bleachers shake.

“Here they come, folks!” Alec cheered as the team came closer and closer. Only Marinette seemed to notice the urgency in Adrien’s step, or how he seemed to take the podium stairs two at a time before standing next to Alec.

“The winners of the first tourn-“ Alec never got to finish his sentimental speech as Adrien snatched the mic from his hand. Marinette couldn’t tell who was more shocked, the crowd or Alec at the loss of his microphone.

“Excuse me! Excuse me,” Adrien said. He was out of breath from the game but he looked more energized than ever. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for something or someone. When he finally found Marinette in the crowd, his smile grew wide.

“Can I have your attention, please? There’s something I’d like to say,” the prince asked, his voice echoing around the tourney field as the crowd went silent, looking confused at why their Prince would stop them in their merriment. Adrien looked a bit bewildered, almost like he couldn’t understand how he found his way up there, all eyes on him. He took a deep breath before finding his voice again.

“Give me an ‘M’!” He shouted into the mic, forming a crooked M with his arms. The crowd more than willingly complied, mirroring Adrien’s actions while Alya and Marinette were stuck looking at each other in confusion. What was happening?

“M!”

“Give me an ‘A’!”

“A!”

“Give me an ‘R’!”

“R!”

Give me an ‘I’!”

“I!”

“What does that spell?” Adrien asked as he pointed at the crowd, a conductor expertly orchestrating his captivated audience. From where she stood, Marinette went pale at the realization at what he had spelled while Alya started laughing.

“Mari!” The students howled, a few of the people around Marinette turning towards her grinning as if this was something to be proud of when all she wanted to do was hide under the bleachers from the influx of attention. Kagami smiled knowingly while Marinette’s own smile was strained and forced.

“Come on, I can’t hear you!” Adrien encouraged as another round of Marinette’s nickname was screamed into the atmosphere. He once again zeroed in on the Isle girl, the smile never leaving his face as he spoke to her like they were the only people on the field.

“I love you, Marinette! Did I mention that?” Adrien said blatantly, his tone dripping with honesty as heat rose to Marinette’s cheeks. Down on the field, Marinette heard Chloe yelp like a cat whose tail had been stepped on before she ran off the field for the sidelines. Adrien, however, didn’t seem to pay her any mind as he turned towards Nino and the band.

“Give me a beat!”

From the stands, Nino pumped his fist in the air as he counted off the pep band. “Un, deus, trois, quatre!”

Then, something that could only come out of a fairy tale happened: everyone started to dance.

Adrien stood on the podium grinning as the beat dropped, his teammates dancing on the field like they had practiced all of this at some point. Surely, they didn’t right? Nathaniel and Kim would have told her if this was going to happen, right?? The crowd clapped and danced, seeming perfectly attuned to all of this while Marinette felt like she had been thrown in the deep end without knowing how to swim.

Alya suddenly gripped Marinette’s forearm as she finally caught on to why this was happening. “By the seven seas, the cookie!”

That’s right. They put that potion in the cookie dough for a chance at the wand, but Marinette could never have imagined it would lead to something this weirdly extravagant.

“What was in the cookie?” Marinette asked incredulously as Adrien started to sing.

“Did I mention that I’m in love with you. Did I mention there’s nothing I can do. And did I happen to say? I dream of you everyday? But let me shout it out loud, if that’s okay. If that’s okay.”

The crowd punctuated his sentences with a loud hey, making Marinette jump. Adrien jumped from the podium, catching Nathaniel’s attention. Together, the two started to dance in sync, the rest of the team mirroring their unspoken choreography. Kim snuck the mic stand up as Adrien continued singing Marinette’s praises.

“I met this girl that rocked my world like it’s never been rocked. And now I’m living just for her, and I won’t ever stop. I never thought it could happen to a guy like me, but now look at what you’ve done, you got me down on my knees.”

Adrien dramatically dropped down to his knees in the grass, his teammates copying his movement to pound the grass in frustration. Marinette couldn’t help but feel her smile actually turn into a real one. It was ridiculous, it was silly, but there was also something almost cute about spellbound Adrien as he bounced around with his teammates on the field, even if it was exceedingly embarrassing. Nathaniel and Kim scooped Adrien up from the ground, the prince putting the mic back in the mic stand as he reached his chorus.

“Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew that it could be like this. My love for you is ridiculous!”

Uninstructed, Kim grabbed the mic stand as Adrien released a series of quick dance moves to the beat of his own spelling.

“My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!”

The rest of the team and the cheerleaders with him copied his moves perfectly as the crowd yelled the word back to him. Adrien gripped the mic with both hands, leaning it away from him when the crowd would answer back.

“It’s -“

“Ridiculous!”

“Just -“

“Ridiculous!”

“And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss!” Adrien sang to Marinette, going so far as to blow her an invisible kiss while the rest of the team did the same.

“Well did I mention that I’m in love with you. And did I mention? There’s nothing I can do. And did I happen to say? I dream of you everyday? But let me shout it out loud, if that’s okay. If that’s okay.”

The prince bounced his hip to the beat, the other players copying everything he did. How he managed to convince everyone to do this without hesitation, Marinette couldn’t fathom, but at least it was entertaining despite the outlandishness of it all. On either side of her, Alya and Kagami were surprisingly into it, copying the clapping and call and response whole heartedly as if this were the most fun they had.

“I gotta know which way to go, c’mon gimme a sign. You gotta show me that you’re only ever gonna be mine. Don’t wanna go another minute livin’ without you. Cause if your heart just isn’t in it, I don’t know what I’d do.”

The last line struck Marinette in a way that she hadn’t expected, making her heart squeeze uncomfortably in her chest due to his honesty. He wouldn’t know what to do? Surely that was just the spell talking, right? He’d be fine after all this was over. Sure, she would overthrow his kingdom, destroy everything his family had created and possibly have everyone here become servants for her and her father, but the effects of the spell would be gone by then. He wouldn’t be broken hearted like he was saying he’d be, she told herself. All of this wasn’t real affection, just a manufactured feeling made by a potion she’d given him.

Meanwhile, Adrien had collapsed dramatically into the arms of his teammates before they tossed him into the air, making Marinette gasp as he came back to the ground.

“Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew -“

“Who knew?” The crowd laughed in response, asking one another.

“ - that it could be like this. My love for you is ridiculous! My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!”

“R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!”

“It’s-“

“Ridiculous!”

“Just -“

“Ridiculous!”

“And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss! C’mon now!” Adrien howled as they hit the instrumental. Marinette saw Coach D’Argencourt drop into the splits at the same time Nathaniel did, making Alya laugh. The trombones blared to the beat as cheerleaders did backflips and tossed one another into the air on the field as Adrien pulled his jersey off, leaving him only in the padding under it. He balled it up before expertly tossing it directly to Marinette who caught it as girls screamed with glee. She unfolded it with a thoughtful smile, reading the large number 7 and Adrien’s name emblazoned above it, not finding it in herself to notice the sweat and grass stains on it.

Things only got more elaborate from there as Adrien was hoisted onto the back of the Knight’s horse mascot like a prince riding into battle.

“Because my love for you is ridiculous! I never knew -“

“Who knew?”

“- that it could be like this. My love for you is ridiculous!”

Halfway through his chorus, Adrien fell dramatically back off the horse and into the arms of three male cheerleaders who hefted him into a sitting position like he was one of their lightweight flyers. Fly he did, as they tossed the prince into the crowd, who caught him with open arms, singing all the while with outright abandon.

“My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!”

“R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!”

As the chorus came to the end, the crowd turned the prince on his stomach, carrying him like he was a superhero across their hands, closer and closer to Marinette, Kagami and Alya.

“It’s-“

“Ridiculous!”

“Just -“

“Ridiculous!”

Adrien had finally floated his way over to where Marinette was standing in the bleachers. The crowd gently lowered the prince back down to earth, placing him directly into Marinette’s bubble to where she had to tilt her head back to look at his face. He was sweaty, probably tired out of his mind from the game and the show he just put on, but that charming smile that seemed to light up his entire being was still there. He raised the mic to his lips, finishing off his dance and song number.

“And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss, c’mon now!” Adrien sang to her as the song came to an end with a blast of the horns and the gleeful clapping of the crowd. Adrien looked at her with an eager expression, going so far as to actually lean in to give her that kiss he supposedly wanted. Marinette quickly held up the jersey as a barrier between them. Not swayed by her dismissal of his kiss, the prince threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

“I love you, Marinette!” He said, full of honesty and adoration that Marinette told herself had to be a byproduct of the spell he was under. “Did I mention that?”

“I think you just did,” Marinette said with a shaky laugh as all eyes came back to her. Chloe, who had been pouting on the sidelines throughout the whole exhibition, pushed and jabbed people out of her way as she climbed the bleachers with Wayhem dragged along behind her.

“Move, peasants!” Chloe shrieked before yanking Adrien’s mic towards her. “Wayhem’s my boyfriend now! And I’m going to the coronation with him, so I don’t need your pity date.”

“Hi, Adrien!” Wayhem managed to squeak out before Chloe dipped down and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. The crowd gasped and oohed like teenagers as they broke away form one another.

Adrien, however, was unperturbed by his rather public breakup with Chloe. He turned to Marinette, still grinning as he held the mic up to his lips.

“Marinette! Will you go to the coronation with me?”

Despite all the extravagance she had just endured, the outrightness of his question somehow caught Marinette off guard. She didn’t think this would all happen so quickly, but she supposed that was what happened when you use the love potion with the best reviews. She couldn’t argue with the results despite their unexpected expediency. She tilted the mic towards her, her hand resting on his padded wrist.

“Yes!” She proclaimed as Adrien thrust his arms into the air victoriously, turning towards the crowd of students around them ogling the interaction.

“She said yes!” The crowd cheered with glee. Adrien’s hand found its way into hers as he laughed, pressing his forehead into her hair as she tried not to squirm. Physical affection had never really been a part of her personal relationships, especially so publicly.

She was saved by Kim who had climbed up the bleachers with trophy in hand. He patted Adrien on the shoulder with a wide grin on his face, winking at Marinette.

“Let’s go, lover boy,” Kim laughed, pointing back towards the field. “The whole team is waiting for you.”

Adrien looked from Kim to Marinette in a kind of daze, as if he didn’t want to leave her side for a moment. He sighed, squeezing her hand. “Yeah. Gotta go then.”

“Bye,” Marinette said as Kim tugged Adrien back down the bleachers. He didn’t let go of her hand until even their fingertips couldn’t touch one another any more. Marinette couldn’t help but laugh at the situation she had found herself in, still holding Adrien’s jersey close to her.

“Guess we know the potion worked,” Alya laughed, shaking Marinette by the shoulders.

“Oh really, you think?” Marinette laughed before noticing how Alya’s eyes followed where Chloe and Wayhem were walking side by side. Marinette studied the odd couple for a moment before crossing her arms, pressing her shoulder into Alya’s.

“Sorry it didn’t work out with Wayhem,” Marinette said. “But I can’t help but feel really sorry for Chloe.”

“You do?” Alya asked in a quiet voice.

“Yeah. I feel like if she were confident and as clever as you, she wouldn’t need a prince to make her feel better about herself.”

Alya chuckled to herself, looking at her best friend with warm hazel eyes. “I guess I am kind of great.”

“You are definitely gifted.”

Alya laughed, leaning in close to Marinette with her arm around her shoulders for a brief squeeze. “Thanks, Mari.”

Down on the field, the team had hoisted Kim and the trophy onto their shoulders as Nathaniel cheered for his friend. Alec, having gotten his precious mic back from the lovesick Adrien, was back for the play-by-play.

“And there he is!” The announcer proclaimed. “Kim, the most valuable player! How do you like that? Here’s to many more great games and an even greater season! Congrats boys, you earned it!”

The crowd cheered for Kim and the rest of the Fighting Knights while Marinette couldn’t help but notice that Adrien seemed to only have eyes for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there time for a music number? Of course there's time for a music number!!!
> 
> Writing it was... interesting, but Im hoping it was worth while for you to read!
> 
> (We don't talk about Chloe and Wayhem kissing. NEVER talk about that)


	14. Bonus Chapter (11.2)

Adrien was in love.

At least, that’s what he was choosing to call it. The prince had never felt like this and love was the only word that he could think to describe it. The butterflies in his stomach, the way his heart skipped, and how no matter how hard he tried, he thoughts always seemed to wander back to her.

Marinette.

He sighed dreamily at the thought of her. Electric blue eyes. The way she marched to the beat of her own drum. How she managed to look past everything that defined him and treated him as a person instead of a title. His parents would have a field day. Spells, the campus was already going half-mad over the show his teammates had put on, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He was simply too in love.

He was practically skipping on his way out of the locker room when he ran into Nino.

“Adrien, mon bon mec!*” Nino cried with a self-satisfied grin as the best friends high-fived one another in victory. “That performance was fantastique! I can’t believe we pulled it off!”

Adrien laughed, putting his hands in his track suit pockets as the two teens meandered towards the dining hall for a post game snack. “It was pretty over the top, wasn’t it?”

“It’ll be the talk of the whole school till the turn of the century!”

“But do you think she liked it?” Adrien’s voice was almost as quiet as their footsteps on the carpeted hallway. Nino paused mid-stride, turning towards his best friend while setting his trumpet case down. He put both hands on Adrien’s shoulders, looking him dead in the eye.

“Adrien, dude. She’d be stupid if she wasn’t at least flattered by it, let alone like it.”

“Marinette isn’t stupid,” Adrien said defensively, pouting as his eyebrows knit together. Sure, he hadn’t known her as long as he’d like to have, but if he could tell one thing, it was that

*mon bon mec - my good dude

she was as quick as a whip and more clever than anyone he’d ever met.

“Which means she definitely liked it,” Nino said confidently before the two started walking down the hall once more. Adrien glanced towards Nino as they walked, noticing how his eyebrows had furrowed together, his lips pursed in thought.

“What’s on your mind, Nino?”

“What makes you think something is on my mind?” Nino countered, though the way he refused to look Adrien’s direction suggested just the opposite.

“You have that look on your face like when Ms. Mendeliev drops a pop quiz and you can’t remember a country capital.”

Nino’s expression turned smug, tilting his chin up proudly even though they both knew how bad he was at geography. “I’ll have you know, I’ve been doing really well on those quizzes lately.”

Now it was Adrien’s turn to turn smug as he elbowed the taller boy in the ribs. “This good fortune with pop quizzes wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain pirate we both know, does it?”

The Frenchman pulled down his favorite page boy cap to hide his eyes, even though it didn’t hide the blush that had crept up his neck and cheeks.

“This isn’t about that,” Nino croaked as they finally made it to the dining hall for their midnight snack. Scattered amongst the long tables were various cheerleaders, tourney players and band members, everyone else who worked hard and needed an extra boost after the evening activities. Adrien waved to the table where Kim and Nathaniel sat with Sabrina and a couple of other players and cheerleaders. The Isle teens waved back, Nathaniel grinning with Plagg wearing a tiny crown in his arms, while Kim pointed to the empty seat beside him. Adrien gave him a thumbs up before pointing to the buffet. Kim waved him on before returning to his conversation with the friends seated around him.

Friends.

Watching the way Kim cracked a joke and the others laughed, how Nathaniel and Sabrina talked while petting Plagg, set something inside the young man at ease. If anyone had told Adrien that in a few short days, his friends and their supposed worst enemies would be laughing and sharing a meal, he may have laughed in their faces. But there they were, the people he had brought to Auradon against everyone’s insistence, bonding and forming relationships that would be the best for all concerned. This was working.

Adrien was so enthralled with watching Kim and Nathaniel that he not only almost ran into the buffet, he completely missed Nino’s question.

“What?” Adrien asked sheepishly as he picked up a plate to start down the line.

“I asked what made you change your mind about the lovely Chloe,” Nino said in a bored tone. Nino had never liked Chloe, something he had been extremely vocal about since Adrien decided to start dating her at the start of high school. “I thought she had you wrapped around her little finger like an expensive ring.”

“More like she was wrapped around my neck,” Adrien admitted, shocking not only Nino, but Adrien as well because deep down he knew it was true. At some point, he had grown tired of being treated as arm candy, used only for the prospect of making others jealous or boosting Chloe’s image. It didn’t help that from the time they were born, not only had their parents joked of wedding bells, but everyone who had ever seen them together had only ever told him how ‘perfect’ they would be together as a couple. Somewhere along the line, Adrien had just gotten tired of fighting everyone off and just accepted his fate of being attached to Chloe.

Lately, however, Adrien had even become uncomfortable with all the little things that Chloe enjoyed doing to others. Putting people down, caring too much about a social hierarchy that only seemed to exist in the minds of her and her posse. He didn’t see the point in it all.

Then there was Marinette. She was everything that Chloe wasn’t, and it wasn’t just because Chloe was from Auradon and Marinette wasn’t.

Marinette was just so… free. She wore what she wanted, said what she wanted and got to be whoever she wanted. Sure, her methods were a bit unconventional when it came to public art displays, but that was only by Auradon standards. She was altogether perfect by Adrien’s.

“I guess…” Adrien started, the croissant he had grabbed still hovering between the platter and his plate. “I just want a chance to be my own person without Chloe. Choose my own relationship without the pressure of pleasing people stacked on top of everything else. I want to be with someone who, for once, might not expect anything from me.”

Across the buffet, Nino looked surprised by his answer for a moment before holding a fist out in his direction.

“I can respect that,” Nino said before fist bumping his best friend.

“Thanks, Nino,” Adrien said, relieved someone seemed to be on his side. He didn’t even want to think about how his parents were going to take it.

“I should be the one thanking you, mon frère,” Nino laughed, clapping Adrien on the shoulder. “I don’t have to pretend I like your girlfriend anymore!”

“Pretend?” Adrien laughed, the two young men walking over to sit at the table where Kim and Nathaniel had already set up camp. “Like you ever tried in the first place!”

Nino laughed, knowing it to be all too true. In all the time that Nino had known Chloe, even before she had started dating Adrien, he had never covered up the fact that he absolutely couldn’t stand the princess.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nino quipped before shoving his fries into his mouth. His mother would have slapped his hand for not enjoying his meal properly, but all he could think about was how hungry he was. Adrien must have felt the same was judging by the large bites he took of his croissants.

“So,” Nino started as he chased down his fries with a long drink from his soda.

“So?” Adrien answered back, his voice muffled by his croissant.

“What now?”

“Uh… I’m not sure what you’re asking,” the blonde replied, not quite understanding.

“What are you going to do about Marinette!” Nino exclaimed in exasperation, his hands flying animatedly into the air. “You’ve done this big gesture, you asked her to the coronation, now what are you going to do?”

Adrien blinked, confused by the question. What was he going to do? He already told Marinette he loved her, and surely she loved him, his heart told him so. That made her his, right? What else was there?

“You’re gonna woo her, that’s what you’re gonna do,” a voice to Adrien’s left spoke up. Kim gave Adrien a knowing look as he winked, stabbing at a piece of meat on his plate. “That’s what you prince types do, right?”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve ever ‘wooed’ anyone-“

“Nah, Kim’s right,” Nino hummed. He pressed his fingertips together in thought. “What do you know about Marinette?”

“That I love her,” Adrien said immediately.

“Okay, something besides that.”

“That she’s perfect.”

“It’s becoming abundantly apparent that you really don’t know anything personal about the love of your life,” Nino confirmed.

“Just take her on a date, stupid,” Kim told the Auradon boys. “Isn’t that something you Auradon preps do?”

Nino smacked the table with a broad grin. “That’s just what I was thinking, Kim! Great minds.”

“That would be great, but-” Adrien lowered his head sheepishly- “I’ve never had to plan a date before.”

Nino looked at the blonde like he had grown a third eye while Kim howled with laughter.

“You went on dates with Chloe all the time!” Nino yelled at him incredulously over Kim’s laughter.

“That doesn’t mean I planned them!” Adrien cried. “You know Chloe! She planned it, I showed up for the social media post. Plus we’ve been together so long, I’m a little out of practice with all this!”

“Well then I have two words for you, mon amie,” Nino assured, a wicked look in his eye as he pointed in Adrien’s direction. “Enchanted. Lake.”

———

The location had been picked and everything had been planned. Adrien would take the day off from all the craziness that he typically had to deal with - meetings, rehearsals extracurriculars - and ‘woo’ Marinette.

Nino had made some suggestions on how to do it, but none of them seemed to stick when it came to what they thought Marinette would enjoy. She wasn’t an Auradon girl, and needed to be treated as such. Which means that the prince had to turn to other references.

Alya was Marinette’s best friend, but she didn’t seem to be of any help besides telling Adrien to catch a fairy and give it to Marinette.

Kim was helpful enough to suggest the date, but when it came to asking her out, he said he wouldn’t need a present if Adrien looked as good as he did.

Finally, it was Nathaniel who seemed to be the voice of reason.

“Of course Kim would be stupid enough to say something like that,” Nathaniel said in an exasperated tone when Adrien managed to find him out in the greenhouse with Plagg. Nathaniel could typically be found in three places it seemed, the art room, his suite, or the greenhouse working on something for his horticulture class.

“I’d apologize for him,” Nathaniel started as he pulled his garden gloves off with a huff, “but then that’s all I’d ever be doing. I’m sure Alya was no better.”

“She suggested giving her a fairy,” Adrien said with a chuckle as he stroked Plagg’s head. He was perched up in a cat bed covered in little hearts and the prince was sure that Nathaniel had made it for the stray.

“As if you’d fly all the way to Neverland to do that!” Nathaniel huffed, before turning sheepishly towards his guest. “Not that you’d ever kidnap a fairy…”

Adrien waved his hand, too tired to deal with anymore babble. “It’s alright, Nathaniel, I was just hoping you would have a better idea than they did.”

Nathaniel almost looked offended at the insinuation that he couldn’t. “You’re talking to the Prince of Hearts, I’ll have you know! Of course I have a better suggestion than anything that pirate and muscle brained idiot could. Follow me.”

Nathaniel waved Adrien farther into the greenhouse with a self-satisfied smirk, past herbs, vegetables and tropical plants.

“Back on the Isle, I spent years watching my father worship my mother with gifts and dates, giving her everything she ever asked for. She would say jump, and he’d jump,” Nathaniel said, sounding proud despite how much like servitude it sounded to Adrien. The redhead gently brushed his fingers over delicate orchid petals and blooming peonies as they headed farther back into the greenhouse.

“One anniversary, my mother asked for a very peculiar flower, a special rose that my father was desperate to give her,” Nathaniel explained as they came onto a grove of various rose bushes. “He bred them especially for her, made them thornless and made sure they grew big and strong with every season. He even showed me how to do it, and when I brought it up to the Horticulture teacher here, he said I could go ahead and see if they would take.”

They approached a smaller set of bushes, hidden in the back of the greenhouse with Nathaniel’s name and the species tacked onto a fence post on the perimeter. Growing on dark green leaves were the strangest roses the prince had ever seen.

The heads were each the size of Adrien’s palm and they were as black as night with a red tint like oil on water with long stems. Adrien couldn’t help but gape at them.

“That’s crazy…” Adrien said in awe as he gave the roses a closer look. “You didn’t use magic or anything, did you?”

“Of course not!” Nathaniel said defensively, looking at Adrien as if he suggested the unthinkable. “We were breeding these on the Isle long before I came here and thanks to certain proclamations, we did so with no magic. Unless you consider the science of cross breeding plants and horticultural developments to be a form of magic.”

Adrien waved his hands pleadingly, hoping to curb the young man’s wrath. Clearly he had hit a nerve concerning Nathaniel’s affinity for plants. “I’m sorry, I just… I guess I let the rumors get to me.”

“Oh yes, the ones spread by that awful Alice,” Nathaniel seethed as he wrung his garden gloves in his hands. “We never painted roses, I’ll have you know. My father pruned and cared for his garden well, and if my mother wanted red roses instead of white, they were grown.”

Nathaniel waved a hand, as if to shoo away the nasty thoughts that had overwhelmed him concerning a certain little girl lost in Wonderland. “Never mind that. If you want to give Marinette something special and absolutely unique, I would give her one of these. She always liked them back on the Isle.”

Adrien looked at him with furrowed brow, concerned about his own misconceptions regarding the people of the Isle. He glanced at the roses in all their beauty before taking a step towards Nathaniel.

“Im sorry for upsetting you, Nathaniel. They’re absolutely astounding,” Adrien said, looking back at the roses. “And I would be grateful if you picked one out instead of me. I’m sure an expert in horticulture would have a better idea of what to pick than my uncultured fingers.”

Nathaniel looked at the prince, as if trying to decide whether or not he was being genuine or not. But when Adrien didn’t falter, going so far as to take a step away to allow Nathaniel access to his precious plants, he seemed to relax some. The Isle teen slowly approached his roses, looking at one rose after another with an expert eye before he slipped his hand into a glove and pulled out a pair of pruning shears from a nearby table.

“Well...” Nathaniel started before angling one of the tighter closed buds towards him. “I suppose I could lend a hand.”

———

It took a while waiting through all of Nathaniel’s gardening tips, but eventually, Adrien came away with a bouquet of black roses tied with a bright blue ribbon. Nathaniel had trimmed and cleaned them with the hand of an expert. Now Adrien only had to find the girl of his dreams.

And there was only one person to consult on that.

“About time you came to your senses!” Alya cried after Adrien found her outside of her Geography class. “I don’t know how fast you can get to Neverland, but my dad always told me the best way to catch fairies is-“

“No, no, Alya,” Adrien chuckled nervously as he cut her off, watching as one or two students sent a wary glance in Alya’s direction at talk of fairies. “I was just wondering if you knew where Marinette would be about this time, that’s all.”

Alya’s excitement waned immediately.

“That’s all?” Alya sighed, cocking her head lazily to the side. “You could have asked anyone for that. Odds are most people have our schedules down to the minute to avoid us.”

Adrien shook his head at the notion but pushed past it anyways. “Well, it wasn’t only that. I wanted to know what you thought-” He pulled out the black rose bouquet from behind his back with a hopeful smile- “about this. I figured Marinette’s best friend would be able to tell me if she would like them.”

Alya’s eyes widened in a combination of shock and awe as she reached out for the bouquet as if it were an illusion. She gently touched the silky petals and let out a shocked kind of laugh.

“Black roses… just like the ones in the gardens back home…” Alya said breathlessly. “I knew Nath had some secret project going on in the greenhouse, but I never thought they’d propagate here…”

Alya looked at Adrien with a softness he’d never seen in her features. “They’re beyond description, Adrien. She’ll adore them, I’m sure.”

Adrien grinned, his heart fluttering as he gripped the bundle of stems. “Thank you, Alya.”

“And believe me, if I thought it wasn’t, I would tell you.”

“Somehow, I don’t doubt that,” Adrien laughed. “Do you know where she is?”

“Probably at her locker or in the art room,” Alya offered before punching Adrien in the shoulder encouragingly. “Go get ‘em, lover boy.”

———

She wasn’t at her locker, for once, and for the first time in his life, Adrien had to go find the art room. It was a spacious conservatory-like building just off the back grounds with large windows to let the light in and everything was made of concrete. Easels were scattered all over the space and there were abandoned paintings, half finished sculptures and bits of rubbed-off eraser. This must have been her free period, because luckily enough, Marinette was alone. Adrien was fine with that. He’d already professed his undying devotion for her before everyone else. Right then, he wanted that moment to be with her and her alone.

He knocked on the door frame to the studio, drawing Marinette out of her reverie of mad scribbling in her sketchbook. She was curled up in the professor’s chair, music blaring on the studio speakers as she worked. (She was listening to Jagged Stone! Spells, yet another reason to love her. She had good music taste.)

She pushed some stray hairs out of her face, smudging some graphite on her cheek in a way that Adrien found adorable. He wanted nothing more at the moment to wipe it away, but there would be time for that later.

“Adrien?” she asked. Wow, he loved the way she said his name. “What are you doing here?”

“Did I have to come by the art studio for any particular reason?” He asked in a coy tone as he sauntered into the art room, examining the high ceilings and exposed duct work. It was so unlike the rest of campus. Maybe that’s why Marinette felt comfortable in here in the first place: it didn’t feel like they were in Auradon Prep at all here.

In her seat, Marinette turned the music down some, sending Adrien a somewhat wary look.

“You’re not going to burst out into spontaneous song and dance again, are you?” She asked with a tired tone, though the way a smile tugged at her lips, the prince had a feeling she didn’t mean it. “Because I think there’s a rule against doing that here.”

“You didn’t enjoy my show?” Adrien threw his hand against his heart in mock hurt. “I’m wounded, Marinette. I only wanted to show my love for you.”

Marinette seemed to cringe at the word love. He was starting to think she wasn’t prone to such strong words, but he’d make her understand one way or another. If she didn’t appreciate him telling her how he felt, he was hoping that she’d at least appreciate what he was about to do. He side stepped around the desk to look at her, his gift for her still hidden in one hand behind his back.

“Alright,” he started, taking a few steps closer to where there was only about a foot between them. “If a public proclamation doesn’t suit you, I’m hoping this at least does.”

It was then that he produced the bouquet of black roses tied with the blue bow, and if Adrien had a camera, he would have taken a picture of her at that moment.

Her lips parted in awe to form a small O, her fingers hesitantly coming up to take the bouquet. Where her fingers brushed his, the prince felt electricity erupt, making the butterflies in his stomach flap away harder than ever.

“How could you… where did you…” Marinette asked in disbelief as she brought the bouquet to her face to take a deep breath. They smelled of earth and sweet aromatics that made her long for home.

“Nathaniel,” Adrien said plainly, not wanting to take credit for having any kind of green thumb. “He uh… really knows his plants.”

“Why would you do this?” Marinette asked as she held the bouquet close as if he had carried it all the way from the Isle. Maybe that’s why her tone had an edge of wariness. Adrien wished he could convince her that there were no ulterior motives here besides him simply wanting to give her something nice and ask her on a date. Clearly, he’d have to state it plainly for her. He started to reach out to touch her hand only to pull it away. She wasn’t one for physical affection, and for now, he’d have to respect that.

“Because I was hoping you’d like them,” Adrien said before his voice turned soft, almost nervous. “And I was hoping you’d like to go on a date with me?”

Marinette blinked in surprise, both hands gripping the bouquet as she considered him and his proposition. She looked down at her roses with a slow, thoughtful blink before she smiled some. She looked up at Adrien with a knowing look before she leaned back in her chair as if she were thinking long and hard about it.

“Well…” Marinette drawled before she did something outright bold. She winked in Adrien’s direction as she smelled her flowers once more. “I think maybe I can swing that.”

Adrien was on cloud nine the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something so fun about writing Bonus Chapters. There's a lot more thought involved since I don't have script to go by, but writing just random stuff to expand upon a hold in the original logic? Fantastic. 
> 
> Nino giving Adrien love advice? Love it. Alya trying to help? Iconic. Nathaniel being the original romantic? You know it's true. 
> 
> Adrien asking Marinette out on a date? Lets GO.
> 
> *mon bon mec - my good dude (At least according to my real sketchy research, please correct me if Im wrong.)


	15. Chapter 12

There was a secret to success when it came to passing Ms. Mendeliev’s ridiculously frequent and obnoxiously hard pop quizzes. You could either study your brains out and have absolutely no free time, or you could do what Alya tended to prefer: cheat.

It was shaping up to be a perfectly reasonable day at Auradon Prep, which naturally meant that Ms. Mendeliev had to go and ruin it.

“Pop quiz,” she cried in her nasally voice, and Alya knew that somewhere deep inside, the precocious teacher enjoyed watching her students squirm in their seats.

The other students scrambled for pencil and paper, Alya sat back and watched the chaos of panic unfold before her like an operatic tragedy. The young pirate slowly started to rifle through her own mess of a bag to grab what she would need for the quiz when a stone of dread settled in her stomach.

She typically kept her father’s compass in the inner pocket of her bag, where it was always in reach. But as she reached into its typical hiding spot, there was no familiar brush of her fingertips against tarnished plating. She quickly succumbed to the panic that had crawled up into her throat as she went through every pocket only to find that her beloved compass was no where to be found.

Nino must have noted her rising panic as he leaned across the aisle to whisper to her. “Alya, are you - “

“Looking for something?” Alya turned her panicked stare towards the front of the classroom where Ms. Mendeliev stood looking at her smugly. From behind her back, she produced her father’s compass. Alya felt her heart constrict. Her father would kill her.

The severe looking teacher stepped forward and patted the desk before her, where Wayhem sat back looking at Alya with a smug smile that made her want to make him eat mud. That pompous idiot had somehow managed to pickpocket a pirate. Maybe he was more like his father than she had given him credit for.

“Thank you, Wayhem,” Ms. Mendeliev congratulated before turning a sharp gaze back to Alya. “It’s gratifying to see that someone still respects the honor code.”

She then set the compass down on her desk with a thud, (How DARE she do that to Alya’s compass!) before she started to hand out the quiz papers.

“It will be my recommendation, Ms. Alya,” Ms. Mendeliev said with a self-satisfied sneer. “That you are expelled from Auradon Prep.”

“Ms. Mendeliev, I-“ Alya tried to reconcile all of this to something to work in her favor, but came up blank for once. She sat there, floundering, when a surprising ally came to her aid.

“But that isn’t fair!” Nino rose to her defense as he gestured to his neighbor. “Obviously she wasn’t cheating since she didn’t have that… Whatever it is.”

“It’s called a magic com-“ Alya started to correct him when Nino sent her a warning look.

“You’re not helping. Stop,” he muttered to her before turning back towards Ms. Mendeliev. “Maybe she just needed another pencil.”

“Actually, I was-“

“Really, don’t help. Please,” Nino insisted as Ms. Mendeliev seemed to contemplate her next move against the two teens.

“Well,” she started as she set a stack of quizzes at the start of Alya’s row. “If you can pass this quiz, I’ll return your property and let the matter drop. Deal?”

Alya gulped, glancing at Nino who gave her an encouraging thumbs up. She turned her gaze back to Ms. Mendeliev, not wanting to give the old woman a chance to watch her squirm. She had studied all of her father’s maps, calculated wind and storm patterns over open waters and was too stubborn to let someone get the better of her.

“You’re on.”

———

B.

Alya had managed to make a B on her pop quiz and she couldn’t help but feel an immense amount of pride over such a simple letter. She gripped the quiz like it was a badge of honor, carrying it in her hand as she left the classroom, looking around for the one person he wanted to show it to more than anyone else at the moment.

He had managed to leave early due to finishing his quiz earlier than most, heading out to who knows where. With Auradon being as big as it was, it was like trying to find a drop in the ocean.

She combed the halls of the main building, even going so far as to check the tourney field in case he had band practice, but found no sign of the elusive trumpet player. Who she did find though, was Kim torturing Nathaniel out on the field.

“One more push up, Nathaniel, c’mon!” Kim urged as the redhead’s arms strained through the exercise. He collapsed onto the turf with a relieved groan as Kim patted him on the back. “See? 50 push ups isn’t that hard.”

“Talk to me after I regain feeling in my arms,” Nathaniel wheezed as Alya approached.

“Yo, Kim, Nathaniel,” Alya called to them. She was careful to hide her quiz behind her back from her friends. “Have you two seen Nino around?”

“That nerd who follows Adrien around?” Kim clarified as Nathaniel weakly pulled himself into a sitting position. Alya felt her cheeks puff up defensively.

“He’s not a nerd, Kimmy,” Alya sneered, drawing out the nickname Nathaniel’s mom always called the athlete. “I just have something I want to say to him.”

“Is it, ‘Hi, I’m Alya, are you in line for any kind of vast fortune?’” Nathaniel asked as Kim burst out into laughter. Alya’s temper flared as she gnashed her teeth at the two boys, causing them both to lean back some.

“I don’t know why I bother!” She snarled at them before turning on her heel, clutching her test in one hand. She didn’t move fast enough as Kim managed to overtake her and pluck her quiz from her hand.

“Hey, give that back!” Alya snapped as she tried to snatch the test back, fearing her friend’s reaction.

“Whoa, a B?” Kim laughed as he looked over the test. “I thought the compass would help you get an A, not a B.”

“I got that without the compass, I’ll have you know!” Alya howled, immediately regretting it the second Kim looked at her with a sneer.

“Aw, Alya! You’re a nerd!” Kim laughed as he clutched his stomach. “I can’t believe you actually do well without that compass!”

Alya felt the heat rise to her cheeks, turning as red as the tips of her hair as Nathaniel tried to quell the brewing storm.

“Alya, it’s nothing to be ashamed of -“

“Wait till I tell the guys back on the Isle!” Kim continued. “Alya, Queen of the Nerds!”

“Shut up!” Alya barked, grabbing the taller boy by the ear and giving it a vicious tug. Kim yelped in pain, his grip on her quiz loosening enough for Alya to grab it back. Kim covered his ear, tears in his eyes as he glared at Alya.

“Oi, what was that for!” Kim groaned as Aya dead legged him, sending him sprawling out on the ground. She leaned over him with a snarl of her own that made even Nathaniel recoil some.

“That was for thinking you’re better than me, Kimmy!” Alya retorted as she clutched her quiz close to her. “Because unlike you, I’m more than just a muscle brain!”

Nathaniel started to say something, maybe it was to defend Kim, maybe it was to calm Alya down, but she didn’t stay long enough to hear what it was. Her anger roared in her ears as she stomped away from her friends, more determined to find Nino now than ever.

———

It took time, venturing in and out of buildings, and one class later, when Alya eventually tracked down Nino. He was set up at a picnic table in the courtyard, looking over music scores for his music memory test later that afternoon. The young man was in the middle of making notations when there was a light tap on his shoulder. He wasn’t entirely sure who he was expecting to be connected to that feathery touch, but he certainly didn’t think it would be the abrasive and confident Alya, standing there looking surprisingly withdrawn.

“Alya, hey,” Nino said, proud of himself that he didn’t sound as tongue tied as he felt. It seemed that every interaction with Alya had been somewhat awkward or with their friends in the middle of it. He was, needless to say, hoping to rectify that so they could have an actual conversation. “What’s up?”

Alya averted her eyes, and Nino could tell that she was, for the first time since he had met her, somewhat hesitant.

“I just…” Alya started before she abruptly shoved a somewhat crumpled piece of paper into his hands. “I wanted to show you this.”

Nino was taken aback at the sudden gift, carefully turning it over and smoothing some of the creases to reveal Ms. Mendeliev’s geography pop quiz. Marked in red at the top was a big B. Alya had passed.

“You did it!” Nino exclaimed excitedly, shaking the paper in her direction. “This is fantastic, Alya! Does this mean you got your compass back?”

Alya seemed to come out of her reverie some with a smug smile as she patted her bag.

“Back and safe where it belongs,” she assured. “And I will never let Wayhem near my bag again. Or near me again if I can help it.”

Nino laughed at her sudden turn in attitude about the Arabian Prince. Clearly, stealing from a pirate doesn’t leave you in their good graces, even if they want to rob you. “That sounds like a good plan.”

Alya seemed to withdraw back into herself again as she took the quiz back from Nino.

“What’s up, Alya?” Nino asked, turning in his seat to face her as she slipped her test into her bag.

Ahe pursed her lips before sighing. “Listen, I appreciate your help back in the classroom, it was pretty great actually-“

“You weren’t so bad yourself,” Nino interrupted, causing a small smile to form on Alya’s lips before she kept talking.

“-But I would really appreciate it if you didn’t go spreading it around.”

Nino blinked in surprise at such an odd request. “Can I ask why? I mean, no one’s really going to care about a quiz, but if you’re proud of yourself you shouldn’t hide it.”

Alya sighed, walking to sit next to him on the picnic bench, her head ducked some.

“It’s just,” she started. “It’s just different back on the Isle. Book smarts aren’t really held in high regard among the gangs.”

“But from what I can tell, Marinette’s plenty smart and she doesn’t seem so quick to hide it,” Nino admitted. Whatever Adrien had said in his love drunk state about Marinette, Nino could already tell that the blue-haired street artist was brighter than most.

“Marinette’s cunning,” Alya corrected. “Conniving and all together sharp. She learned how to play the game from her dad and is a great reader of people. That kind of brilliance is something that’s appreciated. Studying is not, especially among the Kims of the world.”

Oh. So this was about Kim. Nino balked some, having noticed how close Alya and Kim seemed to be, always messing with one another or laughing at some joke that no one else seemed to catch on to.

Nino couldn’t help himself in asking a question. “Are you and he -?”

“Ew! Spells no!” Alya cut him off with the curl of her lip, clearly not enjoying the insinuation. “We’ve known each other since we were kids! And for some reason, he seems to think of me as somewhat of an equal. Marinette was too smart, Nathaniel was more of a target, and I seemed to be the only one who could talk back to him and put him in his place. If he knew that I was suddenly a bookworm, he’d never let me live it down if we ever go back home. I’d be a laughing stock.”

“But why?” Nino asked, his voice full of confusion. “What’s wrong with getting good grades and getting ahead in the world?”

“Because that’s not what we’re supposed to do back on the Isle,” Alya explained. “It’s not about being smart, looking for a good school and getting a happily ever after like it is for you guys here. It’s about making sure you don’t get stepped on by someone else. I know you don’t get it, Nino, but you haven’t lived this life like I have. Just… please don’t tell anyone.”

Nino sighed, leaning to where his back was pressed against the table edge. She was right about that, he certainly didn’t understand hiding something she was so excited about from people who seemed like family.

“I only came over here to show you,” Alya said in a small voice. Nino looked over at her to see she had straightened up and was looking out over the courtyard with a faraway look in her eye. “So that you didn’t think you went up to bat for someone who wasn’t worth it.”

“You’re worth it, Alya,” Nino said immediately, making the pirate look at him with wide eyes. “I don’t get the whole Isle politics, but I know you’re someone who’s smart enough to do well here. I’ll keep your secret and everything, but don’t give up on something like this.”

Alya let out a breathy laugh, caught off guard by Nino’s frankness. She turned to angle herself towards him, placing her arm on the picnic table and cracking a real smile for the first time in the conversation. “Well, if you’re so sure of my skill, why not helping me out then? I’ve never been one to study, but I have a feeling if I want to keep out of Ms. Mendeliev’s line of fire, I’m going to need to learn how.”

Nino blinked. Now it was his turn to be a bit caught off guard. “Wait, did you just ask me out on a study-“

“Date?” Alya finished for him, some of that familiar flirtatious tone seeping back into her voice and making Nino’s heart palpitate. “Yeah, only if you’re up for it, little croissant.”

Alya didn’t have time to enjoy the way Nino had turned red and started to stammer when there there was the frantic thump of approaching feet. The two turned to see Marinette doubled over and panting from her panicked jog across campus. 

“There you are!” She exclaimed, clearly distressed. “Alya, I have been looking everywhere for you!”

“What’s wrong?” Alya asked as she rose to her feet, Nino feeling equally concerned. Did Adrien mess up asking her out?

Marinette straightened, pressing her arms close to her side as she clenched her lips together. She refused to look Alya in the eye as her pale cheeks turned pink. “Adrien just asked me out on… a date.”

“Nice!” Nino exclaimed with a thumbs up while Alya grinned. His best friend finally got what he wanted, a date with a real human instead of with Chloe.

“Don’t freak, girl,” Alya soothed as she put an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “We can handle this.”

She winked at Nino. “I’ll catch you later, Nino.”

The musician gave her a sheepish smile. “Yeah, bye guys.”

Alya then started tugging Marinette back towards the dorms where the real magic would begin - the magic of makeup.

“You’re looking a little pale.”

“Yeah, of course,” Marinette confirmed. “What else should I be?”

“I can fix that with some lipgloss and some blush, you know.”

“No!”

“Not even a little-“

“No, no, no, no -“

As the two girls moved further and further away, Nino couldn’t help but grin to himself over the music scores. Despite the thrill of knowing his best friend had gotten the courage to ask his dream girl out, he couldn’t help but be excited for himself too. He was pretty sure he had just gotten asked out as well.

“J'ai de la chance…” Nino chuckled to himself before looking over his homework, all too pleased with how things were playing out this semester.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating a little later in the day than normal, but there is at least an update! 
> 
> Kim is a bit of a jerk, but Alya bites back. We see a little more of a deep dive into Alya's emotional character and NINO. Best Boy Nino.


	16. Chapter 13

Twenty minutes into their makeup endeavor, it became abundantly clear that Marinette and Alya didn’t really have the skills required for a good make up session. Saber skills yes, brow curler skills no. That’s when they called in the cavalry.

“I don’t even want to know what happened here,” Kagami said when she got a good look at Marinette’s face. “But let’s just fix it right now.”

They eventually ended up with Marinette sitting up straight in her desk chair with Kagami hovering over her face while Alya took notes from her bed.

“Okay,” Marinette laughed, leaning away some from the end of Kagami’s brush. “Easy on the blush! I don’t want to scare him away.”

“Not that she could,” Alya muttered, grinning when Marinette sent her a sharp look. Best not to drop hints around someone as perceptive as Kagami.

“Please,” Kagami scoffed some as she returned to applying blush to Marinette’s cheeks. “My mom taught me not only the art of disguise but the art of applying blush properly. Always use upward strokes.”

“Our fathers were never really big on makeup tips,” Marinette explained.

“And the Queen of Hearts was a little too flamboyant for our tastes,” Alya added with a grin as Marinette shivered, haunted my memories of red lipstick and too much glitter.

“You two don’t have siblings? No older sisters?” Kagami asked as she put away her blush in favor of lipgloss.

“Nope,” Alya said as she propped her chin up on her crossed arms. “Our parents didn’t really want to deal with multiples. Besides, we’re all the family we need.”

Marinette smiled at her best friend, her heart warming some at the thought of them being closer to sisters than just friends. She was right, over the years, she, Alya, and the boys had formed their own cobbled-together family of sorts, one they knew wouldn’t stab them in the back.

Kagami went still for a moment as she clutched her lip gloss with pursed lips.

“Are you afraid of them. Your fathers?” The young warrior’s voice was quiet, almost fearful, something that Marinette wasn’t used to hearing from someone who seemed so unmovable.

Alya looked down at the ground, mulling over the question as much as Marinette found herself doing. Was she afraid of her father? No... not all the time. Not in a way that she feared physical harm from him. Alya seemed to read her mind when she gave her answer.

“Sometimes,” she said. “When he’s in one of his moods or the ticking of a clock gets too loud somewhere.”

Kagami turned to Marinette, her eyes asking the same silent question of her. Marinette paused for a moment.

“I just really want him to be proud of me,” Marinette said slowly, considering every word. “He just gets so angry with me when I disappoint him. And he... yeah, he’s my dad, so I know he loves me... in his own way.”

There was a long, utterly uncomfortable silence following Marinette’s answer, making her stomach churn. Since they had come to Auradon, no one really bothered to ask them about their parents as, well... parents. Most just assumed that they were as evil as the stories had told and left it at that. Kagami actually asking about their fathers was something Alya and Marinette definitely weren’t expecting.

Alya cleared her throat, cutting through some of the tension that had built up.

“Moving on,” she said as she bounced excitedly on her bed. “Can she see yet?”

“Yeah, Kagami, are we done yet?” Marinette asked, squirming somewhat in the chair. She had been sitting for so long her tailbone was starting to hurt.

Kagami gave a rare, but small, smile as she gestured to the upright mirror that was situated between the two girls’ desks. “Yeah, we’re done.”

Marinette slowly rose from her seat, careful to not stumble due to the numbness that had crept up her legs from sitting too long. She wobbled over to the mirror and came face to face with someone who didn’t look all that... bad?

Alya had taken away her hair ribbons, demanding she curl her hair to where it fell around her shoulders in loose curls with the pieces at her temples pulled back into a small ponytail at the back of her head. Marinette had insisted on keeping her skull earrings but switched out a lot of the typical skeleton jewelry for silver with a long and loose necklace and rings on her ungloved hands. It had been a while since she had been without a jacket, leaving her pale and freckled arms exposed to the light. She was glad that Alya was at least allowing her one of her normal black jackets to keep her from burning.

Kagami had gone for a more understated look when it came to her makeup, none of the smoky eye and red lipstick that the Queen of Hearts had tried to get Marinette and Alya to adopt. It was just light blush, enough to pink her cheeks, some peach colored lipgloss and some shimmery silver eye shadow that she put black eyeliner and mascara over.

Her dress was the highlight of it all in Marinette’s opinion. It was one that she had been working on since they came to Auradon, and with the help of her hair spelling business, she managed to get the fabric to make her sketches a reality.

It was a dark blue halter dress with a lace illusion neckline that came down from the fabric choker and was overlaid on the sweetheart bodice. It cinched in at her waist before turning into a fluffy skirt that was covered in tulle and ended just at her knees.She wasn’t sure where Adrien was taking her, he insisted that it had to be a surprise, so she had opted for lower heeled ankle boots with faux laces. She hoped it was appropriate for whatever he had planned.

Still, Marinette couldn’t help but feel happy with the results. Sure, Adrien was under a spell and wouldn’t care if she wore sweatpants or something, but she at least looked like she was ready for a date. As to whether it was prince-level worthy, she couldn’t be sure until he got there.

She let out a satisfied smile, fingering at the tulle of her skirt.

“I look...” Marinette started, searching for the right words as Alya squeezed her shoulders from behind.

“Say it,” she urged, her grin stretching from ear to ear.

“Not hideous,” Marinette admitted while Kagami clicked her makeup case closed.

“Not even close,” she said with that same small amused smile as she turned to look at the two Isle girls. “Now when’s Prince Charming coming to whisk you away?”

No sooner had Kagami raised the question did a knock come at the door. Marinette blinked, glancing at the alarm clock by her bed. It was 4 o’clock on the dot. Adrien was punctual to say the least.

Alya jumped excitedly up and down as Kagami gestured to the suite door with the wave of her hand.

“Show time,” the Auradon girl said as Marinette started for the door, slipping on her jacket as she urged her hands to stop shaking. This was a date, yes, her first one admittedly and with a prince no less, but there was nothing to be afraid of. He was under her spell. There was no reason to believe that anything could go wrong unless she just undid the spell entirely. Everything was going to be fine.

What she hadn’t planned on was him to actually look like Prince Charming.

When she opened the door, she felt her breath hitch some. She knew Adrien was handsome, that part was just an obvious fact, but seeing him there in something other than the suits his father always seemed to make him wear made her heart skip a beat.

He was still in a button down, but it wasn’t buttoned all the way up, showing the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath. He had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with his letterman hanging off one arm and had his shirt tucked into khaki pants. His hair wasn’t as perfectly combed as it usually was, Marinette finding the little fly always and imperfections endearing. His eyes seemed glued to her for a moment, causing Marinette to tug at the tulle of her skirt once more and curl her shoulders up. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but all this quiet was making her nervous. When he did speak though, she was thankful for the makeup to mask the heat that rose to her face.

“For the first time,” he said in a calm voice with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips, “I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful.”

Beautiful? Marinette thought in a daze as her grip on her skirt relaxed. He thinks I’m beautiful?

With his jacket-free hand, Adrien produced a blue helmet, the same color as the ribbons Marinette always wore in her hair.

“I hope you like bikes,” he said with that endearing lopsided smile that was so unlike that picture perfect one he always seemed to show the rest of the world. Marinette took the bike helmet with a wry grin of her own.

“Love them.”

———

They had plenty of bikes back on the Isle, normal two wheels, electric ones and shoddy ramshackle things that were cobbled together from alley scraps. But there was nothing quite like riding on an Auradon motorbike with her arms wrapped around the waist of a prince.

Her cheek was pressed to his back, the wind whipping around her delightfully as the school retreated farther and farther behind her. Despite the time that she and her friends had been in Auradon, Marinette had never left the school grounds to venture out into the beyond. Not that she would be welcomed, of course, but the thought of leaving managed to thrill her to no end.

Cottages and buildings of the nearby town the VK’s had driven through on their way to the school dotted the retreating landscape as they took the back way out of the school. The guards didn’t think twice of letting the prince go galavanting off into the forest, even if it was with an Isle girl.

The landscape dipped and rose, covered in lush green as they drove down a back road towards the rising forest trees. It was so unlike the Isle, where things seemed so bleak and trees were all too scarce for shade amongst the cramped shacks and warehouses. There was the sound of bird song and forest streams in place of back alley chatter and the flank of metal, and while Marinette ached for the sounds and familiarity of home, she couldn’t help but think this was a good alternative.

With fresh air filling her lungs and the solidness of Adrien’s back in front of her, she couldn’t help but think that this was the first time since coming to Auradon that she felt something akin to peace.

The scenery changed into tall pines and thick oak trees, completely separated from the world of Auradon Prep. They eventually came to a stop on a little dusty road shoulder, a sign at the edge of the wood pointing out to a trail leading to an Enchanted Lake.

“Enchanted...” Marinette mused as Adrien helped her off of the motorbike and back onto solid ground. Surprisingly, she didn’t find herself pulling her hand away as quickly as she had a few days ago. “I thought you Auradonians didn’t like magic.”

Adrien looked a tad sheepish as he looked back towards the trail marker. “Let’s just say we don’t mind the more natural form of mragic.”

“So it seems...” Marinette thought as she tried to come to grips with what an Enchanted Lake could mean. Could it be useful? Could it be dangerous?

Despite the turning of gears in Marinette’s distracted mind, couldn’t help but find herself distracted by how Adrien lightly tugged on her hand towards the trail head.

“All I know,” Adrien said with a smile that could make any girl swoon, “Is that it’s a lovely place to go, but not nearly as lovely as you.”

Marinette blinked before walking briskly towards the trail head with the swish of her skirt, her hand slipping away from the prince’s. Once she came to stand beside the marker, she turned back to look at Adrien with a coy smile.

“Flattery, Mr. Agreste, will get you everywhere,” she said with a wink before disappearing down the trail as fast as her heels would allow her. She couldn’t help but laugh at the sound of Adrien chasing after her deeper into the forest beyond.

———

Eventually, Adrien did manage to catch ahold of his prize and together they went stumbling further down the trail, Marinette never too far out of his sight as they made their way to his mysterious destination.

“Tell me about yourself,” the prince asked as they walked across a rope bridge that hung over a small river bed. They had been going back and forth with simple small talk and apparently Adrien wanted something a bit more tangible than how Marinette was doing in school. “Tell me something that you’ve never told anyone.”

Marinette walked along the bridge like she was walking a tightrope, arms outstretched wide. If she had to choose an accurate summation of her current situation, walking a tightrope seemed pretty apt.

She spun around to face him, deep in thought as she mulled over his question. Something she had never told anyone… There wasn’t much, but there was something.

“Um… My middle name is Persephone,” Marinette admitted. It wasn’t something many people knew, even her friends didn’t know about it, just because it was something embarrassing and revealing about her father.

Adrien paused, trying to keep himself from smiling and obviously failing. “Persephone? As in-“

“The greek goddess?” Marinette finished for him, rolling her eyes at her fathers infatuation. “He never did get over her. Guess having her name as my middle name was some weird homage to her.”

“If it makes you feel any better, my middle name is Florian,” Adrien admitted as they continued across the bridge. Marinette craned her head to look back at him. “Florian?”

Adrien rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Yeah.”

“How princely,” Marinette choked on her laugh. “Oh, that’s almost worse. “

“I mean, it’s better than Persephone!”

———

It felt like they were walking for hours before Adrien finally decided it was time for Marinette to no longer be able to see where they were headed.

“I don’t really get why I need to have my eyes closed?” Marinette asked as they walked along, Adrien’s hands gripping hers as he guided her over obstacles.

“Well, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if you could see it, now would it?” Adrien said in a teasing tone. “Watch your foot…”

He pulled her forward, over uneven terrain before eventually they both landed on something solid.

“You good?” He asked as he turned her blindly in the direction he wanted her to face.

“As I’ll ever be,” she said, eyes still firmly shut as he placed his hands on her shoulders from behind.

“But are you ready?” He asked. He was clearly excited about whatever it was he had put together all the way out in the middle of no where. She had to give him points for enthusiasm, at least.

“Definitely ready,” she replied, despite not being entirely convinced that she was. She was hoping it wasn’t another musical number.

Adrien gave her shoulders a slight squeeze. “Alright, open.”

Marinette blinked at the sunlight that streamed through the trees, her eyes adjusting to the scene before she felt her breath leave her.

Sitting in the middle of pristine waters and surrounded by greenery were the remains of what she assumed to be a grecian amphitheater, the columns covered in moss and only three left entirely put together with a circular beam resting on their capitals. It sat on a concrete rotunda with water lapping at its worn, smooth edges. A set of stones made a path over the waters to give access to the man-made island and set up at its center was a picnic. Marinette gaped at how perfect it seemed and could have sworn she saw fireflies flitter and dance like little fairy lights over the waters.

“I know it’s no grand display,” Adrien said teasingly as he rubbed her arms. “But I thought you’d like it.”

“It’s perfect,” Marinette said immediately, and for once, she couldn’t claim to be putting on a facade or false pretenses. She couldn’t hope for something more her speed.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Adrien grinned as he tugged her towards the water’s edge. “C’mon, there’s more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DATE TIME DATE TIME DATE TIME
> 
> Ooooo boy get ready for a long date cause we drew this out purely for our own personal edification. 
> 
> (DATE TIME DATE TIME DATE TIME)


	17. Chapter 14

Marinette was admittedly inexperienced when it came to a lot of things and one of them was not knowing what exactly a picnic was. Still, she was enjoying it over all.

They were sitting on a blanket spread out on the rotunda. At some point, Adrien had snuck down and set it all up with a picnic basket filled with things that Marinette had never heard of or tried. Cucumber sandwiches, strawberries, blueberries and something called a jelly donut. She was licking at her fingers while Adrien smiled and watched from where he lay across from her, propped up on an elbow.

“Is this your first time?” He asked as he tilted his head to the side, looking at her in that adoring way he seemed to have.

Marinette pulled her pinky from her mouth, thinking on it.

“Mmm…. We don’t really date much on the island,” she admitted as she clapped the rest of the crumbs off of her hands, grasping at how to answer. “It’s more like… gang activity.”

Adrien let out a quiet laugh at her answer. “No, I meant, is this your first time eating a jelly donut?”

Marinette blinked, pressing her lips together as she felt at her face. “Is it bad?”

He leaned forward some, his hand coming up to gently swipe at something on her lips which sent a thrill of electricity through Marinette in a way she couldn’t quite understand. “You go a… Just… I mean, do this.”

He rolled his lips together, sticking out his tongue to swipe at them. Marinette smiled some at how cute he managed to make even that look before copying his motion.

“Gone?” She asked, Adrien smiling and nodding in answer. Marinette let out a breathy laugh as she looked down at her hands with a shrug. “Can’t take me anywhere, I guess.”

He sat back again, looking at her with those mint green eyes that seemed to make girls everywhere swoon. “You know, I’ve done all the talking. Your turn. I don’t really know that much about you.”

“You mean besides my middle name?” Marinette said teasingly, causing the prince to smile even broader than before.

“Yes, besides that,” he clarified as he twisted his fingers together. “Tell me something.”

Marinette wasn’t quite sure what to tell him. In all honesty, there wasn’t all that much to tell considering how her life had played out so far, locked away on an island with no real experiences. She decided to stick with the bare minimum.

“Well, I’m 16,” she told him as she rattled off random information. “I’m an only child. And I’ve only ever lived in one place.”

Adrien grinned, pointing to himself. “Me too! We have so much in common already.”

Marinette laughed some, easing back despite not seeing the similarities between them at all. She was a lower class villain kid, he was the upper eschalon of goodness.

“No. Trust me, we do not,” Marinette clarified as she once again came to grips with who was sitting across from her on the blanket. This was no normal boy. This was the heir apparent to Auradon, the most powerful teenager in the country and was supposed to be her mortal enemy. She was supposed to hate him, but at the moment, the only thing she could see was how they couldn’t be any more different from one another.

Adrien leaned forward a bit, trying to catch Marinette’s eye.

“What’s with the face?” He asked with a slight tease in his voice despite the concern his eyes spoke.

Marinette sighed some before looking at him straight in the eye. “You’re going to be king.”

It was Adrien’s turn to look downcast over the current subject, looking down at where his hands fiddled with one another. “Yeah…”

“What?” Marinette asked, not sure what to do about his turn of mood. She didn’t think someone who was typically so positive could turn so gloomy.

“A crown doesn’t make you a king,” the prince said in a somewhat morose tone.

“Well, it kind of does,” Marinette pointed out only to have Adrien sit up straight and look her in the eye. The Isle teen didn’t like the serious direction their conversation seemed to be heading in.

“No, it…” Adrien started, only to rub his neck as he searched for the right words. He leaned back on his hands, his eyes never leaving Marinette’s face. “Your father is the incarnation of death and evil and I’ve got the poster parents for goodness.”

_He’s got a point_ , a small voice in Marinette’s head whispered, making her heart squeeze uncomfortably. The daughter of death on a date with the poster child of goodness…

“But we’re not automatically like them.” His words caught Marinette off guard. She looked up at him to see he wasn’t just playing with her, he looked as serious as could be with a hard edge gaze that refused to waver. “We choose who we’re gonna be. And right now, I can look into your eyes and I can tell you’re not evil. I can see it.“

His honesty made Marinette’s hands shake where they clutched her tulle skirt. How could he say something so easily, something so genuine, without fear of reproach? How could he sound so convinced of something that even she wasn’t sure of at this moment?

Adrien seemed to be tired of the heavy conversation they were having, moving instead to stand in front of her, his smile back full force as he took her hands.

“Let’s go for a swim,” he suggested. And while he seemed to be excited for it, the thought of getting anywhere near the water filled Marinette with deep fear.

“What?” She said, hating for how her voice seemed to squeak out. “Uh… right now?”

“Yeah, why not?” Adrien asked while still holding onto her hands.

Marinette pulled her hands away to hug herself, her arms adding a layer of separation between her and the water that gurgled a few feet away. “I, uh… I think I’m gonna pass.”

“No, no, no,” Adrien insisted as he tugged her to her feet. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“No!” Marinette shrieked, pulling her arms away. Adrien stared at her for a moment, caught off guard by her sudden outburst.

“I mean, if you really don’t want to…” Adrien started, only to have Marinette scramble to cover her tracks when it came to looking like a crazy person.

“It’s not that, I just…” she scanned the picnic spread before her before plucking a ripe strawberry from a bowl. She held it up towards him with a strained grin. “I think I’m just gonna stay behind and try a strawberry! I’ve literally never tried a strawberry.”

“Really?” Adrien said, shocked by her statement.

“Really!” Marinette assured before biting into the juicy berry.

“Mm!” She said forcefully before absorbing just what she was eating. Sweet, juicy, and probably the most delicious fruit she’d had in a while. “Oh wow…”

Adrien laughed, poking her in the nose affectionately. “Just don’t eat all of them.”

“Okay,” Marinette said in a lighthearted tone as Adrien disappeared out into the forest again, leaving Marinette to her strawberry bliss. She turned around, looking thoroughly satisfied, and got to her feet to wait for Adrien to reappear.

She caught sight of him on the precipice of one of the rocky outcroppings that rimmed the far side of the lake, and much to her surprise, he was completely shirtless and wearing a set of blue swim trunks. Marinette couldn’t help but laugh some at the sight despite feeling herself blush at the sight.

“Are those little crowns on your shorts?” She called from where she leaned against the rotunda columns.

Adrien glanced down at his shorts before grinning at her. “Maybe.”

Marinette covered her mouth, laughing some at him standing there. He prepped himself to take off from the rock, letting out a roar worthy of the Beast himself before launching off the rock with a cannonball into the Enchanted Lake.

Marinette watched him disappear below the surface of the lake with a large splash, smiling at how happy he seemed to be and ultimately, how happy she felt to be despite how messed up the situation was.

She slid down the column with a sigh, slowly sinking to the ground. Messed up. That seemed to describe all of this pretty well if she had to explain it to anyone else besides her friends.

She was torn. What would it mean if she actually… liked how things were going? Things were getting out of hand fast. She rubbed her temples as she tried to sort out all the thoughts that were running wild through her head.

She knew her heart was going the wrong direction in terms of what was best for her and her friends in the grand scheme of things. Their parents were relying on them and they couldn’t afford to get so entangled with things like she was doing. Marinette was toeing the line as it was, but she had to admit, things were taking a weird turn.

So far, nothing about this had cost her much. Just a little discomfort is all. But it was looking like the consequences were going to mount up faster if she didn’t get ahold of herself right then and there.

She leaned her head back against the column and had to admit, despite being the mastermind of all this, Marinette was starting to have a hard time deciding which way to go.

“I just wish I knew what I wanted…” Marinette shuddered, hugging herself against the column. “Is any of this really right? Do I actually… want this?”

Could she even have this? Could she have Adrien?

Her father’s overpowering gaze came burning into her memory, the threat of his wrath sinking into her skin like a cold shower. He would never allow it. And even if she went ahead with this… Hades always got his man.

She was falling in deep to something, and she had a feeling that it was something dangerous. Could she even hope to understand how she was feeling and at that moment? More than anything, she was more afraid to say that she was still hoping for a happily ever after when all of this came to an end.

“I’m crazy…” Marinette admitted into the safe circle of her own arms. “I can’t believe I could actually think that he would still be with me after all the magic’s run out…”

Her fingers dug into her forearms before she snatched a piece of crumbling debris from the rotunda, hurling it into the lake with an irritated scream. She stood there, watching the ripples fan out from where the rock entered as she huffed out her anger at a situation of her own creation. Looking at the lake made Marinette wish she had gone swimming with Adrien. At least she’d be drowning in water rather than in her own emotional distress...

Wait.

Marinette pulled herself to her feet, feeling panic rise like a tide in her throat. How long had he been down there? How long could he hold his breath?

Marinette fumbled with her shoes, hopping towards the rotunda edge.

“Adrien?” She said quietly first before screeching his name in a hoarse and fevered tone. “Adrien!”

The Isle teen didn’t hesitate in throwing off her heels, pausing only for a moment to take a troubled breath before jumping into the frigid waters. Her lungs constricted in panic and shock as she pushed herself past where her feet could touch the smooth lake bottom. She flailed her arms and legs aimlessly, unable to keep her head above water. Did she really think she could save a drowning man? That she could be the hero instead of the villain?

Her head dipped below the lake’s surface, but all she could think was how the green waters would be the last thing she would see instead of Adrien’s green eyes.

A bubble of air escaped her lips before she felt something circle around her waist, dragging her towards the surface. Her head breached and she found herself coughing up water instead of breathing in air. She was pulled towards the rotunda once more, dragged along by something obviously friend instead of foe. She was dragged up onto the concrete base, a gentle hand rubbing at her back as she continued to cough and shiver. Eventually, she felt a thick blanket wrap around her as she was leaned up against one of the crumbling columns, a hand placed on her shoulder. When she finally got over her coughing fit and the tears cleared from her eyes, she could make out wet blonde hair and the eyes she was dreaming of before she went under.

“Adrien!” She croaked, reaching out to touch his shoulder, just to make sure that she wasn’t dead and this was a devil’s illusion. When her fingers brushed warm skin, solid and with a beating heart, her shivers seemed to slow. Her fury, however, was not subdued as she smacked him hard in the arm. “You scared me!”

Adrien gave her an amused yet surprised look as he sat back to give her some space.

“You… you can’t swim?” He asked in an incredulous tone, looking at her with bewilderment.

“No!”

“You live on an island!” His exclamation hid barely contained laughter, mirth in his green eyes.

“Yeah.” Marinette clarified, pouting as water dripped from her bangs down her face. “With a barrier around it, remember?”

She sat back with a huff, puling the blanket tighter around her shoulders as she looked away from the prince as he pulled a towel around his own.

“And you still tried to save me,” He said, his eyes never leaving her face in somewhat awe. His gaze had lost some of its exuberance that it seemed to have over the past few days, but it was still alive with something Marientte couldn’t explain.

“Yeah,” Marinette confirmed, her shoulders hunching up defensively under his gaze the longer it was fixated on her. “And do you thank me? No! All I get is soaking wet!”

Adrien seemed to soften at that, turning almost bashful as he held up an opalescent stone from the lake bottom.

“And, uh, this fancy rock. It’s yours.” Adrien took her hand in his, placing the slick rock in the palm of her cold hand. “Make a wish and throw it in the lake.”

At any other time, Marinette may have taken advantage and thought of an actual wish. But at that moment, she was wet, cold, and too irritated to deal with anything. She did get a little frustration out when she threw it back into the water with a loud splash.

They sat there in silence afterwards, Marinette shivering still in her soaked dress, Adrien still looking at her as if she held the answer to a complex puzzle. He seemed to go back to carrying the world on his shoulders, and when he spoke, every word sounded as if it were steeped in thought.

“Marinette…” He spoke softly, drawing her attention back to him, back to those eyes that seemed so alive and saw into Marinette’s soul. What he said made her shake more than the water did. “I told you that I loved you. What about you? Do you love me?”

Drowning in the lake would have been easier than answering that question. A voice in her head that sounded like her father said not to get attached. A smaller voice that sounded too much like hope longed to truthful.

“I…” She stammered, her spirit lighter than it had been in a while when she finally admitted what she felt. “I don’t know what love feels like.”

Adrien considered her for a moment, his pause in answering making Marinette’s stomach curl with nervousness. Was she wrong? Was being truthful the wrong way to go even in Auradon?

Instead, Adrien smiled. It wasn’t like the picture perfect smile to make magazine covers, or even that lopsided grin that made Marinette think he could be a little mischievous too. This was like the sun rising after a long night, warming Marinette from the inside out as he leaned in to brush his thumb along the crest of her cheekbone. She would have turned away, should have, but somehow couldn’t find it within herself to pull away from his gentle touch.

“Maybe I can teach you,” he said softly. They were stuck there like that, suspended in their own little world by the Enchanted Lake. But it was Adrien who pulled away first, rising to his feet after tugging the blanket around her shoulders.

“Sit tight,” he told her, tapping her on the nose as he rose back up to his full height. “I’ll go grab my jacket to warm you up, alright? Don’t want you getting a cold.”

As he walked back to find his clothes and jacket, Marinette couldn’t help but think that she was so much warmer when he was near her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we still on the date? Yes, we are still on the date because THE DATE IS IMPORTANT.
> 
> DATE DATE DATE.


	18. Chapter 15

The post-date euphoria wasn’t the whirlwind it was when Adrien came and picked her up for the Enchanted Lake. She was wrapped in his letterman, clinging close to him as they rode back, unable to keep the smile from her face as they returned back to Auradon Prep. Adrien wasn’t nearly as chatty as he had been at the start of all this, but that same soft smile that made Marinette seem to melt never left his face.

She was hugging his arm as they made their way back to her dorm room where Alya would be waiting with bated breath, wanting to know a play by play of every single moment. Marinette leaned her cheek into Adrien’s shoulder, trying not to groan at the thought. All she really wanted was to take a hot shower, put her PJ’s on and go to bed, but she knew Alya wouldn’t allow that until she knew everything. At this point, Marinette wasn’t even sure how to explain any of it.

Adrien pressed his nose into the crown of Marinette’s head and for a moment, none of it mattered. The people who were counting on her. The plan they had set into motion. All that Marinette knew was that Adrien seemed to adore her, and she seemed to be satisfied with that alone.

They sadly came to Marinette’s suite too soon and Marinette felt shoulders sag. It was like waking up from a lovely dream, a splash of cold water on an enchanted moment. Adrien seemed to think the same since he didn’t bother pulling his arm from her grasp, merely staring at her door with furrowed brow. It was Marinette who begrudgingly made the first move.

“Guess the party is over,” she said in a light tone as she unwrapped her arms from around his, reaching for the letterman to start taking it off. “I should probably give this back-“

“No,” Adrien said, firmly pulling the jacket back around her with an amused smile. “You nearly drowned today. I’d rather someone so lovely not get a cold on top of that. Besides, it looks better on you anyway.”

Marinette’s face heated up as she hugged herself, still trying to play it cool despite feeling incredibly flustered. “If you say so.”

Adrien grinned at her, brushing his thumb along her cheek before pressing his forehead against hers. It wasn’t a kiss, it wasn’t any outrageous declaration of love, but Marinette couldn’t help but feel it spoke so much more as her eyes fluttered shut. This intimacy was new to her, but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t starting to like it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Adriens said in a quiet tone, only audible enough to be heard in the space that existed between them.

“O-okay,” Marinette replied, surprise to find herself bemoaning the moment when Adrien pulled away, tapping her on the nose before he started sauntering away down the hallway, looking back once to wave at her before he disappeared down the stairs.

Marinette stood there, wrapped in someone else’s jacket and soaked from head to toe, dazed for only a moment before she turned to open her suite door.

She wasn’t expecting the welcome party that greeted her.

“MARI!” Alya boomed from her bed, scrambling away from the card game she had been having with Kagami. “Seven seas girl, tell me everything! Is that his jacket? Why are you wet?”

“Alya, let her at least sit down,” Kagami commented as she slid to the edge of Alya’s bed. They were both in pajamas and Marinette couldn’t help but feel envious. She couldn’t wait to change out of her wet clothes.

Alya waved Kagami off, pulling Marinette along until she could sit on Alya’s bed in a wet heap. Marinette fell back spread eagle onto the soft comforter, longing for when she could climb into her own bed without the weight of questioning gazes on her.

“So?” Alya said impatiently as she shook Marinette’s leg. “I need to know everything! Was it great? Did you enjoy it at least?”

Marinette sighed, her eyes tracing the texture on the ceiling. “It was… magical.”

“I bet,” Kagami said matter-of-factly as she gathered up her cards and what looked like a small pile of winnings. It may have been small change, but anyone who could beat Alya in a card game was pretty slick. “Going to the Enchanted Lake is pretty special.”

“Nino thought it would be the perfect location,” Alya piped up, looking slightly proud at Nino’s contribution. “Of course, when he took someone there it wasn’t nearly as successful, but I’m sure lover boy made sure everything was perfect.”

“It was,” Marinette admitted, knowing deep down that perfect probably was too small for a word to describe the day she had had, minus the dip in the lake.

“So, would you do it again?”

“Do what again?” Marinette asked, glancing at where Kagami sat shuffling her cards. Alya’s eyes were on Marinette now, her expression serious as she seemed to catch up with what Kagami was suggesting so nonchalantly.

“Go on a date with him again, obviously,” Kagami said in a flat tone, as if it were supposed to be obvious despite the Isle teen’s inexperience in most of these things. “It’s super apparent that you have feelings for him, Marinette. It’s written all over your face.”

All over her face? Marinette’s eyes went wide as she worried at her lip, looking back at the ceiling. Surely she wasn’t so transparent? She couldn’t be so obvious, especially with everything that was going to come to pass in the coming weeks. If anyone back on the Isle found out she had gone soft, she’d be eaten alive. If her father found out she’d gotten too involved, she wouldn’t see her next birthday.

Alya must have sensed this indecision, how everything seemed to hang in the balance of what Marinette decided next, and was the first to act.

“You know what?” Alya stated as she leapt to her feet, pulling Kagami along after her. “You’re right! Marinette’s probably bushed from all this lovey dovey stuff, so we’ll just say goodnight!”

“Hey!” Kagami said defensively as she was forcefully ushered through the door. “Is this because I beat you at Black Jack?”

“Oh, definitely,” Alya lied before blocking her out of the suite. “See you tomorrow! Evil dreams!”

Kagami didn’t have time to reply, the door closing abruptly in her face. Alya pressed her back to the wood, deftly locking the door so no one would disturb the two girls for the rest of the night. Alya’s face fell, almost looking sorry for her best friend as she studied her from the doorway.

“Mari…” Alya said slowly, her voice lacking that excitement from before. Clearly, they had both come to understand what Marinette becoming too attached to an Auradon boy could mean. “What are you going to do?”

Marinette didn’t have the energy to think as she closed her eyes, the darkness behind her eyes comforting in a way as it blocked out the world.

“I don’t know.”

———

Remedial Goodness hadn’t gotten less annoying, but it had managed to become more manageable now that the Isle teens knew how to work Fairy Godmother’s battery of questions and smiles. They had gotten through so far with good grades and were flying under the radar until Fairy Godmother managed to throw a curveball.

“Children, excuse me,” Fairy Godmother said in that sweet tone that she never seemed to be without. She tapped her baton on the top of the podium to catch Kim, Nathaniel, Alya and Marinette’s attention. Class had just started, but Fairy Godmother wasn’t one for idling.

“Um, as you know, uh, this Sunday is Family Day here at Auradon Prep,” Fairy Godmother stated, twisting at her baton as she stood at the front of the class. “And because your parents can’t be here due to, uh, distance -“

“And certain laws,” Marinette muttered sending Alya into a quiet fit of giggles.

“We’ve arranged for a special treat,” Fairy Godmother continued despite casting a wary eye in the girls’ direction. She reached behind the podium and produced a laptop that she proceeded to open and type away at. Kim looked at Marinette and Alya with a furrowed brow, obviously just as confused as they were.

_What is she doing?_ He mouthed silently to his two friends, Nathaniel craning his head forward to see if they had any answers, Plagg doing the same from where he sat in the teen’s lap. Marinette merely shrugged, her eyes constantly darting back to look at Fairy Godmother.

“I don’t see anything…” A deep voice came from the computer that made Marinette’s soul start to shake. She knew that voice.

“Kids,” Fairy Godmother motioned for them to rise and come close, looking expectantly at the screen. The Isle teens approached like wary, wild animals coming upon something they knew to be a trap. When they rounded the podium, Marinette knew that it took all her friends’ will to not run out the door with her. Staring back at them were their parents all crowded around the screen in the living room back on the Isle. Despite their fear inducing reputations, the four villains didn’t look all that terrifying as they fiddled with the computer.

“I don’t hear anything either!” Hades growled as he pressed one key after another with one finger at a snail’s pace.

“Press enter,” Gaston quipped only to have his face shoved away by the Olympian with a snarl.

“Can I please see a remote?” Hades barked as he gestured animatedly to the computer. “How do humans use these things? Is it even on?”

“Or you’re just impatient and won’t let anyone else try,” Captain Hook said monotonously only to have his face also shoved away.

“I hate stupid electronic equipment,” Hades fumed, not paying attention to Captain Hook who pressed a stray button on the keyboard. Suddenly, their parents’ eyes lit up in recognition.

“Nathaniel!” The Queen of Hearts howled in delight, pushing the men aside to where her pale and makeup-caked face filled the screen. Marinette saw the way Nathaniel cringed at her overeagerness, Kim elbowing him in the ribs with a snicker. “Look at my handsome boy!”

“Who’s the old bat?” Gaston said bluntly as the villains started eyeing Fairy Godmother.

“This is Fairy Godmother,” Marinette said, waving a hand to the instructor who dipped her head in an elegant greeting. Their parents, however, were not nearly as civilized.

“Still doing tricks with eggplants?” Hades mused while Gaston and Hook cackled.

“I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage!” Fairy Godmother hissed. Obviously, Hades had managed to hit a nerve.

“You really couldn’t give Cinderella till one A.M.?” Hades laughed, The Queen of Hearts, Hook and Gaston still laughing behind him. “I mean, really. What, the hamsters had to be back on their wheels?”

“They were mice!” Fairy Godmother retorted as Marinette placed a hand on her shoulder. “They were not-“

“Okay!” Marinette interrupted, giving the instructor an affirming pat on the shoulder. “Thank you so much, Fairy Godmother. I think we can handle it from here.”

Fairy Godmother blinked, as if coming to her senses as she looked at the student.

“Oh,” the older woman said breathlessly as she tugged her blazer straight. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, no big deal,” Marinette assured her, slowly pushing her farther away from where the students were gathered around the computer. The Isle teen had a feeling their parents really didn’t want an audience for what they would end up discussing. Once Marinette felt like Fairy Godmother was at least not entirely within earshot from where she now sat behind her desk, she turned back to the video call.

“Hi, papa,” Marinette greeted. Hades scrambled to lean closer to the computer, as if he could somehow reach through the screen to his daughter. His smile was that of a mad man, his eyes burning with unrestrained excitement.

“My little doll!” Hades exclaimed. “I m-m-miss you.”

“You children are never far from our thoughts,” Captain Hook added though from their lack of emotion, Marientte could see their parents were only really concerned about one thing, and it wasn’t their children. Marinette tried not to roll her eyes at her fathers attempt at genuineness with her and she felt Alya’s shoulders slump as she tried not to groan.

“I got it,” Marinette confirmed as Hades brimstone eyes bored into her.

“How long must papa wait to see you?” Hades asked. Marinette knew this wasn’t about when she was coming home. He was asking when they would have the wand.

“Um,” Marinette started as her brain scrambled to cobble together the timeline they were currently working on. There was Family Day Sunday, which meant the coronation wasn’t all that far behind. “There’s a big coronation coming up. I think sometime probably after… that.”

“When,” Hades demanded, his tone much harder than it had been before when he was attempting to keep up appearances. He was fed up with cat and mouse and his daughter knew it.

“Friday,” Marinette said, trying to ease the tension that had built up in her entire body over the course of this conversation. Her father didn’t used to have this affect on her. If he knew she was afraid of his wrath, he’d call her a coward and a failure. Marinette couldn’t let him see what he was doing to her. Her answer though, seemed to appease the beast as her father went back to his caring father facade.

“You sure I can’t see you before that?” Hades crooned, splaying his pale and bony hands out before him appealing to her. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get my hands on that magic wa-“

Hook elbowed him in the ribs, making Hades choke some but he kept talking, trying to cover his mistake. “- you… you little nugget that I love so much.”

“Yes, I completely understand, papa,” Marinette told him, knowing that he was merely appeased for now, and he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had Fairy Godmother’s wand in his hand. Meanwhile, The Queen of Hearts had moved on to another subject entirely.

“Nathaniel!” She screeched as she pointed at her son, her face almost as red as her painted fingernail. “Is that a cat?! How could you, you awful child! Off with it’s head this second!!”

“No, mother!” Nathaniel retorted, taking everyone in the room, both virtual and present, by surprise. He held Plagg close, staring his mother down with a fierceness none of them had known him to have. “He has done nothing wrong.”

“He’s a cat! Like that no good Cheshire with it’s horrible grin-“

“This cat has been nothing but good to me!” Nathaniel countered, cutting her off in her rambling. He almost looked at her with pity as he stroked Plagg’s head. “More than what I can say of you…”

The Queen of Hearts gasped, clenching her fists as Hook and Gaston attempted to hold the robust woman back. “Why you ungrateful little boy! I have done everything for you and that no good father-“

She was cut off with the abrupt slam of the computer. It was Kim who had his hand splayed on top of the laptop’s cool surface, huffing as he tried to calm down from the rush of anger that had overwhelmed him. Nathaniel was shaking, Alya’s mouth was agape and Marinette was downcast as they all stood in the shocked silence that followed. From her desk, Fairy Godmother stood slowly, as if she were approaching a spooked animal, and looked at her students with a soft gaze.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, and while Marinette knew it was probably a knee jerk reaction, she appreciated it all the same.

“Thanks for the special treat,” Kim said, his voice full of bitterness as he put a hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder, ushering him towards the door. The redhead didn’t say anything, simply clutching his animal friend like he was the anchor in all of this as Kim stood protectively over his friend. Fairy Godmother didn’t stop the two boys from leaving, she even told the two girls that they were free to leave as well without any kind of lesson for the day.

On the way out, Alya leaned closer to her friend and asked the question that all four of them had been thinking for a while by that time.

“Mari?” She said quietly, hugging her textbooks close. “What do you think our parents are gonna do to us if we don’t pull this off?”

Marinette stopped mid-step, standing in the doorway to their Remedial Goodness class. She couldn’t help but think that’s where they were at that moment, standing in the threshold of something, torn between two choices. Still, she tried to reassure her friend.

“I think they will be quietly disappointed in us, but ultimately… Proud of us for doing our best,” Marinette explained in a slow tone, mulling over her words.

“Really?” Alya asked, not sounding entirely convinced by Marinette’s ploy. Her doubt shut down Marinette’s resolve to keep up appearances entirely.

“No, I think we’re definitely goners,” Marinette said morosely before the two girls walked towards their next class, having much more than studying on their mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post Date reflection and the looming Parents Day! We're gonna get into the ANGST now so be ready my good readers.


	19. Chapter 16

Plagg was curled up on Nathaniel’s bed when the Isle teens had their war meeting. The stray lazily watched them pace and discuss, one emerald eye barely open as he feigned sleep.

Marinette spread out the drawing of the wand she had sketched so long ago in Goodness class. Around the table, Kim, Alya and Nathaniel watched as their plan became more clear.

“Okay, we all know what this looks like,” Marinette started before moving from her drawing to the map of the Auradon cathedral. She set a finger on the cathedral crossing. “It’ll be up on the dais under the Beast’s spell jar.”

Her finger then moved to the back of the cathedral, pointing to an unseen door Adrien had explained would be there. “We’ll be coming in from here. I will be in the very front with his parents and you all will be up in the balcony.”

“Okay,” Alya affirmed as Marinette turned to Kim.

“Kim?” She asked as Kim took over his part of the plan. He leaned back with his arms crossed as he stared at some non-existent spot on the table.

“Okay, so, I’ll find our limo,” Kim started, his sentences coming out slower as slower as he seemed more reluctant to continue. “So we can break the barrier, and, uh… get back to the island with the wand.”

“Perfect,” Marinette said as she reached for a small perfume bottle she had been fiddling with earlier that afternoon. She held it out to Alya. “Alya?”

“Yeah?” The pirate said as she examined the bottle before taking it from Marinette’s hand curiously. The smaller girl tapped the top of the perfume bottle.

“You will use this to take out the driver,” she explained. “Two sprays and he’ll be out like a light.”

Alya nodded half-heartedly as she looked at the bottle in her hands. Marinette forced a smile, trying to raise her friend’s spirits, but not even she could find the excitement in her to make it seem genuine. They had lost whatever motivation had sent them out to the museum that first night. She could only hope they had enough drive to get through the plan at all.

They started to disperse, Nathaniel leaving to his bed to pet Plagg while Kim became very interested in his tourney bat. Marinette paid them no mind, taking her seat at the boy’s suite table to go over something in her spell book. When Alya started to pull away, she caught sight of what exactly the other Isle teen was planning on doing.

“Mari, girl,” Alya said breathlessly as she examined the book’s contents. “You want to break Adrien’s love spell?”

Marinette looked at her with wide eyes at being caught in the act. Her gaze flicked from the spell book to her best friend as the two boys watched on expectantly.

“Um, yeah…” she stammered, her gaze now firmly locked on Circe’s spell book. “You know, for after. I don’t…”

Alya slid down into the chair beside Marinette with a confused furrow to her brow. She clearly didn’t understand Marinette’s intentions and honestly, Marinette didn’t really either. She just knew deep down that this was how it needed to be. She couldn’t hold on to Adrien like this.

She twisted her fingers together idly on the table top, trying to focus on that instead of how heavy her heart felt. “I’ve just been thinking, you know, when the villains finally do invade Auradon and begin to loot and kick people out of their castles, imprison their leaders and destroy all that is good and beautiful… Adrien still being in love with me just seems a little…”

She pressed her lips together, searching for the right word as her friend’s gaze pressed into her. Alya didn’t interrupt her, merely waiting in patient silence until Marinette found her voice again.

“…cruel,” Marinette said plainly, trying to keep as level tone as possible under her companions’ heavy gazes. When she could bear the silence no longer, she slammed her spell book shut, making the other three jump. She quickly gathered up her notes and books, shoving them into her bag before leaving the boy’s suite entirely. She couldn’t bear their concerned looks. She had work to do.

“Mari-“ Alya called after her in vain, but the suite door being slammed cut off any more attempts to call Marinette back as she marched determinedly down to the dorm’s kitchen once more.

It was early in the morning by the time Marinette’s delicious deed was done, wrapped up in an eye-catching purple box with gold ribbon. A chocolate bonbon to break the spell and possibly break Marinette in the process. The Evil Queen herself couldn’t have done a better job. She probably couldn’t have cried the tears Marinette had in order to make the counter spell work.

Marinette’s fingers idly fiddled with the box’s ribbon, her eyes clouded with sleep, but her mind too alive with thoughts of what was to come. She knew this was for the best, for both she and Adrien. She only wished she wasn’t finding it so hard to let him go.

———

If there was one thing that Auradonians loved, it was musical numbers and Family Day wasn’t spared their antics. As parents and siblings waited in the overly decorated courtyard, the prince and princesses put on a show. Adrien, of course, was the lead, Nino, Chloe, Kagami and Wayhem in the chorus as they sang a song Adrien’s mother had been enchanted by when her husband was still a beast.

From where Marinette stood with her friends by the buffet, she couldn’t help but smile as Adrien performed, his smile seeming to grow impossibly wider when he caught sight of her. At her side, Alya was holding Plagg while Kim and Nathaniel took turns drinking from the chocolate fountain.

“So…” Alya said amusedly as Marinette helped herself to another strawberry. She had to admit, the red berry was growing on her.

“So?” Marinette asked back as she licked the juice from her lips.

“Are you nervous?”

“Alya, I don’t think this is the right place to talk about that,” Marinette hissed as her eyes darted from face-to-face. Almost every parent there was a lord or lady of some kind. Talking about wanting to overthrow the kingdom in front of them probably wasn’t in their best interest.

The pirate laughed, bouncing Plagg in her arms. “Not that! I’m talking about meeting the parents, girl!”

Marinette almost dropped her strawberry. That was right, Family Day meant that Adrien’s parents would be there as well - the King and Queen of Auradon. She saw Adrien approach them after the musical number, both dressed in purple and gold. She suddenly knew there was something she feared more than failing her father.

“Girl,” Alya said as she patted her friend on the back. “You look like you’re going to puke. I beg you, don’t do it on my shoes.”

On the other side of the courtyard, oblivious to Marinette’s panic, Adrien embraced his mother in a hug and King Gabriel patted him on the shoulder.

“Oh, that was so lovely!” Emilie crooned as she held her only son at arm’s length to get a good look at him. “You remembered the song!”

“Of course, mother,” Adrien laughed as she hugged her son’s arm. “You only sang it to me all the time.”

“Oh, quiet you, you know you loved it!” His mother huffed, feigning being hurt despite the smile on her face. She pulled him along the veranda, King Gabriel walking along just ahead with his hands clasped behind his back.

“I’ll admit, I’m a bigger fan of the original,” the King admitted, although when he looked back there was a flicker of mirth in his gaze. “But your version was… refreshing.”

Adrien grinned. His father didn’t dole out praises frequently, and Adrien took such a small compliment as a precious gift. It was a gorgeous afternoon as they strolled along, the wind cool on Adrien’s face, the sun shining so brightly on all the guests and students. He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Family Day, or a more perfect occasion to introduce his parents to Marinette.

They walked along in amicable chit chat, Emilie pressing her son for every detail he had managed to leave out during their weekly family dinners as Gabriel listened. As they reached the end of the breezeway, they came upon the royal photographer all ready with his camera. Adrien should have known his father would want a photo on Family Day like they did every year. He tried not to groan as his mother pulled him along eagerly.

“Here?” Adrien asked as he stood between his parents.

“Yes, dear, stand closer to me though, that’s right.” Emilie corrected, smoothing out one or two stray hairs of Adrien’s. The prince didn’t shy away from his mother’s ministrations, fidgeting with his cufflinks instead. He hadn’t planned on going right into the Family Day photo. He was hoping to have a moment to talk to his parents and introduce them to Marinette. He knew that his parents had a tight schedule to keep and typically didn’t stay for the entire day’s festivities, so if he was going to tell them about the lovely Isle girl, it would have to been sooner rather than later. As the photographer fiddled with his camera lens, he seized his moment.

“Oh, by the way,” Adrien said hurriedly, wanting to get this over as soon as possible without his parents’ intervention. “I have a new girlfriend.”

His parents both looked at Adrien with wide-eyed shock as he stood smiling between them.

“Oh, really?” Gabriel commented as his son nodded almost eagerly.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I never wanted to say anything,” Emilie started, hugging her son’s arm closer. She wasn’t one to be snobbish, that was typically his father’s game, but Adrien couldn’t help but notice the way his mother’s nose seemed to tilt up into the air. “But I always thought that Chloe was a little self-absorbed. Fake smile, kind of a kiss-up.”

Adrien rolled his eyes at her tone while his father took up the conversation.

“Do we know your new girlfriend?” The king asked as the cameraman finally finished adjusting his camera’s settings.

“On the count of three!” The photographer said in a chipper tune as he raised his camera. “One, two…”

“Well, sort of,” Adrien continued as his eyes darted around the courtyard. He had seen her only a short time ago, and he couldn’t imagine her wandering off too far from her friends. When he finally caught sight of her electric blue hair and dark clothing, his eyes lit up.

“Marinette!” He called with a wide grin on his face, not seeing the way his parents’ expressions fell when they saw the Isle girl waving back at their son. Unfortunately, it was the same moment the photographer took his ill-timed photo.

Adrien stepped away from his frozen parents, who stood staring as the girl with dyed hair and wearing almost all black moved away from her friends to approach their sunshine child. Adrien grinned from ear to ear as he easily slid his hand into Marinette’s, tugging her towards the king and queen. Gabriel had fallen back on his familiar stoic expression while Emilie tried her best to appear welcoming though her eyes gave away her shock.

Adrien pulled Marinette close into his side, an arm put around her shoulders, “Mom, Dad, this is Marinette. From the island.”

“Ah…” Emilie managed to squeak out while Gabriel said nothing. Marinette’s hand crept up to touch Adrien’s hand as it hung around her shoulders, finding him to be an anchor in her overwhelming anxiety. This didn’t seem to be going well from her perspective. Still, Adrien squeezed her hand in response, not seeming swayed by the situation in the slightest.

“My girlfriend,” Adrien said definitively. Marinette didn’t miss the way the king’s cheek muscle seemed to twitch at the mention of their relationship. Emilie was as always the one to speak up first of the two.

“Hi,” the older woman said, her smile a little forced, but it made her none the less beautiful. She held out a delicate hand, gold rings on her fingers that were worth enough to feed three families on the Isle for a month. Marinette slowly slipped her hand into the queen’s, bowing her head slightly as she curtsied to her.

“Your Majesty,” Marinette said in a formal tone. The teen didn’t know where her teacher was, but she had a feeling that Fairy Godmother would be proud of her for not outright spitting in the hand extended to her. Emilie seemed to relax some at Marinette’s reaction, pulling on the girl’s hand to get her to rise.

“Oh, please,” the queen said with a sweet as sugar smile. Marinette knew immediately where Adrien’s optimism and kindness came from. “Call me Emilie.”

“I was thinking maybe she could join us for lunch?” Adrien asked, giving a pointed look in his father’s direction. The king had refused to look Marinette in the eye since she had first approached them and didn’t seem to be keen on doing so any time soon. Still, when Emilie elbowed him in the ribs, King Gabriel managed to find his voice.

“Of… course,” the king said in a strained tone that Marinette tried not to be offended by. Years of royal snobbery tended to wear on a person’s people skills and she knew the ex-Beast was probably less sociable than most. “Any friend of Adrien’s…”

“Um, I actually came with my friends,” Marinette intervened. She knew it was a sad attempt at an out but while she was coming to terms with liking Adrien, sitting down with his parents for an incredibly awkward lunch seemed more painful than pulling teeth. King Gabriel didn’t speak up to sway her decision, but Emilie didn’t hesitate.

“Well, you should invite them,” she said firmly, shutting down any hopes of escape for both Marinette and the king. “The more the merrier!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course, dear,” Emilie said without hesitation, her smile becoming warmer with every passing moment. Apparently she wasn’t phased by the thought of being surrounded by more Isle riff-raff as she had been when Marinette first approached. The teen couldn’t help but find it both surprising and a bit heart-warming.

“Yeah, I’ll go grab them,” Marinette said, starting to pull away from Adrien’s orbit when he tugged her back.

“How about a game of croquet before lunch?” Adrien asked, looking plainly at his father with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. The king must have taken this as a challenge, his own lips turning up in a sharp-edged smile as he looked down at his son from the veranda.

“Oh course,” Gabriel said instantly. “Game on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that Date we had full of really nice times and tooth rotting fluff from the last two chapters?
> 
> Yeah we're passed that. 
> 
> It's time for PAIN. It's time for FAMILY DAY.


	20. Chapter 17

They took to the croquet pitch along with the many other families of Auadon students. The king and queen were watching on more than playing, King Gabriel occasionally poking fun of his son while the kids played. Alya waited in the grass with Plagg, swatting him with feather grass while Kim and Nathaniel played their game, Adrien and Marinette playing another. They were just starting off, Adrien having made the opening move. He leaned against his croquet mallet, looking smug as Marinette examined the pitch before her.

“Have you played before?” Adrien said in a light tone, but Marinette knew he was toying with her. “It’s okay if you haven’t.”

“Please, Auradon Boy,” Marinette said, her words clipped as she took a well calculated swing with her croquet mallet. Her own ball went careening through the first two wickets, striking Adrien’s own ball, sending it off course and earning Marinette two extra strokes. Adrien didn’t hide the way his jaw dropped, turning to look at Marinette who was looking at him with an almost pitying smile.

“I grew up with the Queen of Hearts,” she said plainly, swinging the croquet mallet up to rest it on her shoulder. “We used hedgehogs and flamingoes, but your version is cute too.”

Adrien looked at the isle girl in almost awe before letting out a surprised laugh, gesturing to the pitch. “Then by all means, take your shots, oh, Queen of my Heart.”

They went on like that, Adrien trying to flirt her into missing, Marinette laughing and nudging him away when he tried to cover her eyes. The game was eventually over, Marinette having blown the prince out of the water, but neither could find it in themselves to care as Adrien picked her up from behind and spun her around to congratulate her on her victory.

“Well, at least you’re not a sore loser!” Marinette laughed as Adrien set her back onto the grass, spinning her around to face him. He was grinning, catching Marinette by surprise as he leaned in to press his forehead to hers.

“Why would I be mad?” The prince had a cunning look in his eye, “I already have my prize.”

Marinette blushed bright pink, trying to think of a good retort but coming up blank. Luckily, Kim managed to come to her rescue in an odd way as he put his hand on Adrien’s shoulder.

“Alright, no more mushy stuff,” Kim said as Adrien pulled away from Marinette, giving her a chance to breathe but still holding her hand. “New game, winners vs. winners, losers vs. losers.”

“Which naturally means we’ll be playing against each other, Marinette,” Nathaniel said cockily as he stood by the pitch where he and Kim had been playing. Nathaniel, who wasn’t normally so forward, motioned for Marinette to join him. “Come on, the quicker we start, the quicker you lose!”

“As if!” Marinette retorted, giving Adrien’s hand a squeeze before marching over to face her redheaded adversary. “Get ready to put your crown where your mouth is, Nath!”

The two artists took to their game with a vengeance as Adrien and Kim played their own with much less vigor. Marinette was in the middle of watching Nathaniel make his shot towards the fifth wicket when she was joined by a new companion.

“Hello there,” a soft voice crooned as an older woman came to stand beside the Isle teen, though old would never be the word used to describe her. She had sun-kissed skin that didn’t show a wrinkle in sight, her long, strawberry blonde hair pulled away from her face in a half-up, half-down look. The woman had on an elegant long sleeve dress that fell just to her knees and was peacock blue, matching her peacock feather earrings. She was decked out with gold jewelry and gold sandals, but it was her long necklace that caught Marinette’s attention. It was inscribed with an odd symbol, like an asterisk, but the bottom line was drawn out and intersected with another line to form what looked like a sword hilt. Marinette had seen that sign before. If only she could place it…

“Hi,” Marinette said as politely as she could, her attention going back to Nathaniel as he took his swing.

The elegant woman looked at Marinette with the same borderline familiarity as she circled Marinette to stand on her other side. She placed a finger against her lips, the polish the same peacock blue. “Have we met before?” 

“No, I don’t think so,” Marinette said, trying not to fidget under this stranger’s gaze. Why did it feel like she was being sized up for a fight? “I’m new. I’m sort of like a… transfer student.”

The older woman nodded, though not looking entirely convinced. “Oh?”

Marinette wasn’t willing to explain what all being a transfer student entailed, she was having to good of a day and didn’t want it ruined by more horrified looks than what she had gotten when she arrived to Auradon. The students had gotten used to her almost, the parents were less likely to do so.

Still, there was at least one hold out, the last vestige of loathing towards Marinette on the grounds of Auradon Prep. And she was headed straight towards her and her odd new companion.

“Giagiá!” Chloe squealed in her typical over eagerness as she ran up to greet the older woman with a kiss on the cheek. She was dressed in a lilac v-neck sundress with ruffled details in her skirt, wearing gold accents that glittered all over her body. Her golden hair was wavy like the older woman’s, and Marinette couldn’t help but notice how similar the two women looked in the face. Marinette watched the interaction curiously as her brain wrapped around what Chloe had said. It was a Greek word, one that she understood.

“Grammy?” Marinette said in disbelief as she looked from one woman to another. As understanding dawned more and more on the Isle teen, she couldn’t deny the resemblance between the two, the only real difference being the color of their eyes.

Marinette speaking up caught Chloe’s attention, her adoration for her grandmother souring quickly to a scowl that twisted her pretty face.

“Hercules’ mother,” Chloe hissed, stepping closer to her grandmother with her shoulders squared. Marinette’s eyes widened as she looked back at the older woman, Chloe’s grandmother, once more. Suddenly that symbol around her neck, the peacock feather jewelry, all seemed to fall together to make a complete puzzle. This was no ordinary royal like the others. This was Hera, Queen of the gods and technically, her Aunt. Marinette didn’t see this family reunion being a happy one.

“Grammy, I don’t think you want to be talking to this girl,” Chloe hissed. “Unless you’d like to be turned mortal too.”

“What?” The immortal seemed to look on Marinette in a new light, her eyes widening as she honed in on Marinette’s face. Her body seemed to flare, light glowing off her skin as she quickly took a step back from the teenager, pulling her granddaughter along with her.

“You!” Hera shrieked, pointing a well-manicured fingernail in Marinette’s direction as all eyes seemed to hone in on what was happening. “You dare to disguise yourself like this, you demon!”

Marinette shook her head, clinging desperately to her croquet mallet as her friends came to surround her. Adrien stepped between her and Hera, his body acting as a shield for her.

“Queen Hera, it’s okay,” Adrien said, holding out his hands placatingly towards the immortal queen as her fiery light started to dim. “Hades is still on the island. This is his daughter, Marinette. Don’t you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?”

The scowl Hera gave Adrien would definitely give Chloe a run for her money in terms of the hate she seemed to exude with just a look. Marinette flinched in spite of herself, leaning into the protective fold of her friends as Alya and Kim moved to stand in front of her. Nathaniel pulled her into a one-armed hug as Plagg hissed at the goddess.

“A chance to what, Adrien?” The queen asked. Her voice was soft, but it still cut like a razor’s edge. “Destroy us? Come on.”

Hera turned to the audience that had gathered around them to gawk at the scene, looking for allies amongst the haggard faces of the old guard. “Don’t you remember?” She asked as she looked at the royals, her eyes focusing on all those she knew had been affected. “The poison apples? The potions?”

She turned her fierce gaze back on Marinette, as if she could focus all her hate onto her like a sacrificial lamb.

“The potions,” she whispered again, and Marinette could hear how her voice cracked as old wounds were ripped open. “My son… was raised by humans because of your father’s potion. His first words, his first steps, I missed it all!”

Hera released a haggard breath as Chloe held onto her arm, rubbing it as comfortingly as she could as her grandmother came down from her rage-induced high. The queen turned her back on the Isle teen and the prince. “You mustn’t trust her.”

Marinette wasn’t sure what made her want to apologize, but she found herself reaching out to touch Hera’s shoulder. The Isle girl she once was would have spat on her feet for what the Olympians did to her father. The girl she was now just wanted to say she felt bad about all this goddess had lost.

“I’m so sorr-“ Marinette started, barely brushing her fingertips against Hera’s shoulder when a body quickly formed a wall between the two women. Wayhem had stepped between them, his gaze fierce as he looked at Marinette with what bordered on disgust.

“Go away!” He yelled at her. “Stay away from her!”

Adrien quickly pulled Marinette behind him, staring down the Arabian prince with a ferocity that matched his own.

“Don’t do this, Wayhem,” Adrien warned, his hand gently squeezing Marinette’s to comfort her in spite of the tension that was building to a fever pitch.

“What?” Wayhem whispered incredulously as his gaze flitted from Adrien to the VK’s he so ardently defended. “You’re still on this? Adrien, what do you think villains teach their kids? Huh? Kindness? Fair play?” He shook his head, his gaze focused intensely on Adrien now. “No way, okay? Uh-uh.”

It was then that Wayhem turned on Marinette who found herself stepping closer to Adrien reflexively as his fury was poured out on her. “You stole another girl’s boyfriend.”

“Hey, hey!” Adrien growled as he stepped further in front of Marinette to shield her from Wayhem’s sharp words, but the other boy had already moved on to his next target.

“Oh. You enjoy hurting people,” Wayhem said to Kim. The taller boy didn’t retaliate for once, looking numbly at his hands as Alya put a hand on his arm, snarling in Wayhems direction. That was enough to make him turn on her as well.

“And you!” He said with a mocking laugh. “You’re nothing but a gold digger and a cheater.”

Alya growled as Wayhem turned his back on her, smirking to the crowd of Auradon students and parents who had gathered around them as pride oozed from him. Alya didn’t hesitate to reach into her purse, revealing her father’s compass. She brought it to her lips as she took a step towards the arrogant boy.

“Oh, compass in my hand,” Alya hissed to the device as she stared down Wayhem, “who’s the biggest jerk in the land?”

She held out the compass and without hesitation, the needle pointed directly at Wayhem. Wayhem merely scoffed, swatting the compass from Alya’s hand. Alya scrambled after her father’s treasure as Kim finally came alive. The Isle teen grabbed the prince by the lapels of his sport coat, snarling at him as Wayhem’s eyes widened.

“Back off, Wayhem!” Kim growled as Marinette saw Alya rummage through her purse once again. “Alright? Just back off!”

Nino appeared from the crowd, grabbing Wayhem on the shoulders to try and pry the Auradon boy from Kim’s firm grasp. It was only Marinette who was focused on Alya who had produced a familiar bottle of perfume from her purse.

“No…” Marinette whispered as Alya sprayed a large dose of the perfume straight into Wayhem’s face. The effect was instant. Wayhem’s eyes fluttered shut and he crumbled into Nino’s arms, Chloe grabbing at her boyfriends jacket sleeve.

“Wayhem! Wayhem!” Chloe cried as other students looked on in horror. Adrien had stepped away from Marinette to push Kim away with a firm hand to help him calm down. Nino frantically swatted at Wayhems face as Chloe shrieked for him to wake up.

“Alya did something to Wayhem!” The blonde shrieked, not even her screeching rousing him from his magic-induced sleep.

“Mon Dieu,” Nino whispered worriedly under his breath. “C’mon Wayhem, wake up, buddy.”

Marinette watched, frozen where she was. It was like a car wreck that she couldn’t look away from as parents and students turned frantic. In the midst of the panic, she was for once not the level-headed one. Instead, it was Alya who stepped up, tugging Marinette away from the scene with a firm grip on her hand.

“Come on, Marinette,” the pirate said in a firm tone as Marinette stumbled behind her, eyes still glued on the sleeping Wayhem. She was being pulled from the croquet pitch, Nathaniel already on their heels with Kim following behind. Adrien turned away from watching Wayhem to see them flee, looking all too distraught and confused for Marinette’s liking.

“Guys!” He called frantically after them, but the Isle teens were already out of ear shot as they climbed the stairs up to the upper courtyard before disappearing into the crowd. The prince carded his hands through his hair, gripping it tightly. As he stepped away from the crowd that had gathered around Wayhem, he ran into his parents who had been looking on with solemn expressions. Queen Emilie had paled, clutching her husband’s arm as King Gabriel looked at his son with that all too familiar steely-eyed expression. It was what happened when Adrien knew he had screwed up royally and Gabriel had been expecting it from the beginning. Adrien felt his heart wither a bit in his chest. His father always knew this would happen eventually and this was the proof he had been looking for all along.

“I feared something like this would happen.” Gabriel’s voice was level and all too calm for Adrien’s liking. It made him feel like he had outright failed.

“This isn’t their fault!” Adrien said immediately, hating how he sounded like a petulant child. He was supposed to be a king the very next day. What kind of king couldn’t defend his own decisions and subjects without feeling like he was breaking down?

His father was everything his son wasn’t at that moment, perfectly composed as he put a hand around his wife’s shoulders. His words were like a stake to his son’s heart.

“No, son. It’s yours,” was all he said before turning his wife towards the staircase that the Isle teens had fled up moments before. Queen Emilie looked at Adrien in a daze, glued on her son as the young man took a shaky step towards her.

“Mom…?” He croaked, but his father had already pulled her out of reach. She looked over her shoulder with her mouth agape, the always perky queen for once at a loss for words. Adrien trailed after them for a moment like a lost puppy before stopping, his body suddenly too heavy to continue any further.

Behind him, Wayhem had finally gained consciousness, looking bleary-eyed as Chloe pulled him to his feet with a firm tug. She scowled at the prince as she pulled Wayhem past where he found himself stuck. Even Nino had seemed to flee from Adrien’s presence, his best friend having disappeared from the pitch as far as he could tell. Adrien now stood alone as people muttered and whispered to each other. He had dreams of this day being perfect, but as he stood there alone, surrounded by dropped croquet mallets and kicked over wickets, he felt more like his dreams had become a nightmare and he was no where close to waking up.

———

Marinette had been in a lot of nasty situations, but as she sat at a picnic table with her three downtrodden best friends, she couldn’t bring a worse one than this to mind.

They were hated. They were despised. They would never be accepted here. She had been an absolute fool to think that there was even a hint of chance. Sure, Adrien was different, the best different that Marinette could think of, but even he couldn’t make up for the rest of them. Years of hatred and history could not be erased by a silly proclamation, no matter how much he believed it could.

Family Day had ended hours ago and they had spent almost all of it in silence. Kim and Alya took some time to scream and yell, kick up dirt and howl like wild animals. Marinette couldn’t find it in herself to stop them from acting exactly the way everyone else perceived them to be. She was too tired of all of it and if it helped them feel better, then at least someone would be in better spirits. Eventually, the two hot heads cooled and came to sit at their table. Nathaniel had held onto Plagg like a comfort blanket and the stray didn’t squirm or cry about it. Instead, he curled into Nathaniel’s lap purring as comfortingly as he could to soothe the redheads woes.

Marinette, however, sat and stewed as she watched those who had yelled at her, tormented her friends, and called them lesser mulled about the school’s green lawn. Her eyes focused in on Chloe immediately as she and her posse paraded about at one of the other sitting areas just a few feet away. Technically, this Auradon princess was her second cousin. Somehow, Marinette couldn’t see them having any good family bonding any time soon.

Adrien eventually found them, looking out of breath and disheveled in his now wrinkled suit. The hours seemed to wear on him, too much running around and undoubtably putting out fires that their scene had caused among the royal elite. Still, he approached them with a stressed smile, clapping his hands together as he looked from one downcast face to another.

“Hey, guys,” he said and even Marinette could tell his chipper tone was forced. He met her eyes and his expression immediately fell, turning to something more aligned with concern as he focused in on her. “How is everyone?”

None of them answered and Adrien let out a shaky breath before rounding on Kim where he sat on the table top. “Hey, listen. Forget about it. All right? It was nothing. Forget about it.”

He rounded further around the table, moving from Kim to where Marinette sat on the bench beside him. His hands found their way to Marinette’s shoulders, rubbing them gently as he continued rambling comforting words that seemed to go in one ear and out the other. “Let it go. Tomorrow, after the coronation, I promise everything will be okay.”

Marinette saw the way Alya’s eyes seemed to cut into Adrien in a way the sharpest dagger couldn’t. Had he said that this morning, the Isle teens may have actually believed him. But things had changed, eyes had been opened, and any hope for reconciliation just because a crown was transferred from one head to another felt impossible. Marinette felt Adrien’s sigh tickle the top of her head before he leaned down, his breath warm on her ear.

“I have to go,” he said and Marinette could hear how much it pained him to say the words. She didn’t want him to leave her at that moment. She wanted to escape back to that picnic by the Enchanted Lake where she felt like no one could touch them. But while magic could do a lot of things, it couldn’t alter time, and they were stuck where they were.

He rubbed her shoulders one more time, putting on that same practiced princely smile as he looked at the others.

“I’ll see you guys later,” he told them plainly. When it became clear that he would get no response from any of them, Marinette felt his hands slip off her shoulders. There was a faint rustle as Adrien stepped away and Marinette knew he was gone.

There was another sound of approaching foot steps before Nino appeared at Alya’s side. He had been hovering around Chloe and her troop at the other table, that much Marinette knew from when one of the groupies had yelled his name. She wasn’t sure his motivations for hanging around them, not when Adrien had said he never got along well with Chloe or Wayhem, but his approach made Alya soften some around the edges as they made eye contact.

“Listen, Al, I wanna talk about earlier today,” Nino said in a soft tone, like he was afraid the others would hear him talking civilly to one of them. One hand reached out to Alya while the other held the suit coat flung over his shoulder. “I just-“

“Nino!” Wayhem barked from the other table. He had been spotted.

Alya looked at the young man pleadingly, clutching her hands together with white knuckled pressure. “It’s my fault, Nino. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s mine - ‘

“Nino!” Wayhem howled again. This time Nino did retaliate, turning back towards the angry Auradonian with an exasperated grunt.

“What?” Nino answered. Wayhem gave him a furious stare, not saying anything but managing to get Nino to yield. The Frenchman sighed, looking back at Alya with a torn expression.

“Nino…” Alya whispered and Marinette felt her own heart break at the hurt in her voice. Still, Nino backed away.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said before he walked back over and into the fold of Auradonian youth. Their next visitors were not nearly as apologetic.

“How long does she think that’s gonna last?” Chloe’s voice was silky smooth but Marinette could feel the venom that lurked beneath her every word. “Marinette is just the bad girl infatuation.”

“Yeah,” Sabrina agreed in the same snide voice. _How quickly people turn_ , Marinette thought as the redhead that she had helped in her first days in Auradon sneered in her direction. “I mean, he’s never going to make villain a queen.”

The two pulled away back towards their groupies, laughing like the hyenas they were probably related to. Marinette felt the sadness within her get overwhelmed by incredible rage that licked at her insides. Alya’s eyes went wide as Marinette pulled her spell book from her purse, flipping quickly through its worn and battered pages until her finger landed on one spell in particular.

“Beware, forswear, undo Sabrina’s hair,” Marinette said before drawing a complex symbol in the air. There was a rush of air around Fairy Godmother’s daughter before her elegant curled hair was replaced by what she had originally - short, straight, and obscenely plain when compared to the princesses she was surrounded by. Nearby, Kagami quickly checked her own magicked hairstyle to make sure it hadn’t been undone while the princesses burst out in a chorus of laughter. Sabrina grasped at her hair, her eyes wide with shock as her fingers trembled.

Marinette rose from her seat, her friends following suit as she turned towards her tormentors, a fire in her eye that made the prince and princesses pause.

“There’s a lot more where that came from.” Marinette’s voice was as cold as ice as she stared down Chloe in particular. The daughter of Hercules didn’t balk, pointing an accusatory finger as she stepped closer to Marinette in an attempt at intimidation.

“Excuse me, who do you think you are?” Chloe said in that nasally tone that ground on Marinette’s nerves in a way she couldn’t withstand that day. She didn’t back down from Chloe, taking pleasure in the way the princess flinched some when Marinette bared her teeth at her.

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Marinette hissed. When Chloe didn’t back down like Marinette wanted her to do, the Isle teen turned back to her spell book. As the pages turned, more and more of Chloe’s friends fled from Marinette’s presence, eventually sending even Chloe scampering away back into the dorms.

Marinette huffed, her blood boiling. They fled like rats from a sinking ship and had no bite to back up their ear-pounding bark. She looked up at the towering spires of Auradon Prep and had the sudden desire to watch it all burn to the ground.

She turned on her friends, her smile forced but still no less satisfied as she looked from one friend to another.

“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” Marinette hissed. Alya nodded in agreement, her gaze as cold as Marinette’s heart felt. At her side, Marinette saw Kim break out into a familiar crooked grin. Marinette slammed her spell book shut with a satisfying thump, the resolute sound feeling like the drop of a gavel. Judgement would soon be passed on Auradon by their hands.

“Let’s grab that wand and blow this popsicle stand.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst? ANGST. 
> 
> Family Day is definitely a trial by fire.
> 
> And I may have also looked up Croquet rules because Im that weird.


	21. Chapter 18

The Auradon Cathedral is situated at the center of the Auradon’s capital state, decked out in purple and gold banners that flapped in the wind over the stain glassed windows that depicted the unification of the kingdoms. Ushers in golden suits lined the purple carpet that led up the many tiered steps to the front doors. Photographers, journalists and newscasters stood at the ready with their equipment, waiting with bated breath for the arrival of the heir apparent and his company.

Meanwhile, on another island and in a less regal setting, the villains too looked on from where they sat crowded around a busted TV, Gaston fiddling idly with the antennae to clear the static as best he could. Hades reclined on the couch, tapping irritably at the stained Persian rug beneath his feet as Captain Hook and the Queen of Hearts lounged on either side of him.

“Will you please stop that incessant tapping,” the Captain hissed, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. “It’s extremely annoying.”

“You know what I just remembered?” Hades said, turning on his companion. The flames on his head crackled and sparked to dangerous heights far above where he sat. “That I don’t care! Gaston, get that thing working!”

“Will you cork it?” Gaston barked in response as the TV finally came crackling back to life. The sight of a perky blonde on screen sent the Queen of Hearts into a tizzy.

“Alice!” She hissed, her red heart fan flying through the air, missing the TV entirely and nailing Gaston in the shoulder.

“Watch it, Queen of Mean! I just got this thing working!” Gaston hissed at the queen as he moved to sit spread legged on the floor.

Through the crackling sound of the television set, Alice’s twittering tones relayed the news of the upcoming coronation to all and sundry across Auradon and the Isle.

“At last, here we are, broadcasting live from the coronation where Prince Adrien will soon by crowned king!” Alice grinned, bright and full of sunshine that only Auradonians seemed to have. “I’m Alice, bringing you up to the second coverage of this tip-top tea party!”

“I’m Alice,” blah, blah, blah,” the Red Queen seethed, twisting at her black and red skirt as she chewed on her lip. “Who are you kidding? She’s definitely had work done!”

“Oh will you just shut up!” Hades seethed.

The camera angle changed, showing the inside of the cathedral alive with activity with the already gathered royals. Princesses and princes flitted about the marble floors in their refinery as more golden suited ushers looked on. Wayhem fawned over Chloe as she went from group to group showing off the Venetian gown she was in. Sabrina trailed behind, sheepish once more now that Marinette had undone her magic spell.

From behind the center dais, Fairy Godmother appeared with a pale blue cloak draped over her shoulders that she handed off to a waiting servant.

“Oh, Fairy Godmother is looking radiant. But what is happening with Sabrina’s hair?” Alice snickered some over the news broadcast before turning to the dais. Fairy Godmother had circled around the lifted platform, looking at the covered object with a kind smile before pulling the covering from the spell jar. The silky fabric fell away, revealing the Fairy Godmother’s wand floating in perfect stasis beneath the glass.

“And there’s Fairy Godmother’s wand,” Alice crooned in awe as Hades leaned forward eagerly, his feet tapping with unrestrained excitement.

“I want that wand,” he growled as Captain Hook let out an irritated sigh, twirling his hair around his hook.

“Do you?” The old pirate said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Hadn’t heard.”

The camera changed once more, showing the outside of the cathedral as people crowded the barricades that lined the streets. Farther down the street, the procession had appeared with the General and his soldiers riding ahead of what would ultimately be the royal carriage carrying the prince and his girlfriend, whoever that would be.

“Oh, and here comes Adrien now,” Alice commented, not knowing how her casual words didn’t carry the punch the image of who was sitting in the carriage with prince Adrien did.

“Is that…?” Gaston asked breathlessly as Hades finished his sentence for him.

“My little marionette.”

———

From the carriage, the shock and awe of the situation was not lost on Marinette from where she sat elevated above the gawking onlookers who screamed and fawned from where they stood. The young lady sat away from Adrien, the distance between them causing an ache in Marinette’s chest. She knew this was for the best, to start the separation that the bonbon in her lap would ultimately finish, but it didn’t make it any less hard.

Adrien, however, mistook her distance for nerves in the face of the crowds gathered. When she wasn’t looking, he slipped his hand into hers, the sudden touch making Marinette jump and turn to look at him for the first time since they got into the carriage.

He was as handsome as always, but this time, dressed in purple and gold, covered in tassels and epaulets, he truly looked like the king he was about to become. His hair was combed, there wasn’t a hair or thread out of line. Still, it was the lopsided grin on his face that managed to remind Marinette that this was still Adrien and not some huffy prince that others admired from afar. He squeezed her hand gently and it seemed to act like a tether as she slowly started to draw closer back towards him.

“Don’t be nervous,” the prince said in a soothing tone as his thumb rubbed comforting circles on the back of Marinette’s hand. “All you have to do is sit there and look beautiful. No problem there.”

Marinette couldn’t help the blush that crept up into her cheeks at his compliment. “Thank you,” she said breathlessly as Adrien continued to look at her like she hung the moon in the sky.

Adrien’s gaze dropped down to where their hands were intertwined, and as much as it made Marinette’s heart ache, he pulled his hand away, twisting at the gold signet ring on his pointer finger. It was his father’s ring, one that probably went back generations to different kings and bore the crest of Auradon. It was used to sign edicts and was the ring people probably kissed whenever they approached.

“Marinette, would you wear my ring?” Adrien asked, the ring already halfway off his finger.

The significance wasn’t lost on Marinette. Giving someone a ring was a declaration to everyone looking on that she was his. Her stomach churned at the thought with both excitement and dread. She was about to destroy everything this beautiful boy knew and loved and he was willing to declare to everyone looking on that he chose her. He chose an Isle girl. She couldn’t let him do that, not so close to where it would all fall apart.

“Um… not now.” Marinette tried not to notice how his face seemed to fall at her answer. She automatically took his hand once more, hoping to quell the sadness that had appeared in the lines of his face. “I think it would probably just fall right off of me.”

Adrien nodded, his eyes automatically falling to look down at their hands and at the young woman’s slender fingers. Before he could question her any further, Marinette spoke up again.

“I have something for you.”

“For me?” Adrien asked in surprise, as if getting a gift from Marinette was something outlandish and all together exciting. She tried not to focus on his cheerfulness at the thought when this would be the gift to undo them. She fiddled with the small box that had sat in her lap from the time they had gotten into the carriage and felt like a ticking time bomb in its purple and gold package.

She watched him unwrap the ribbon, rattling off the nonsense she had been contemplating saying since she put the bonbon in it’s box. “Yeah. It’s just for later, you know, when you need strength. Some carbs to keep up your energy.”

Adrien gave her a wry smile as he tapped his finger to his temple. “Always thinking.”

Marinette relaxed some as his attention turned to the open package in his lap. Now, if they could just get through the ceremony, he could eat the bonbon and everything would be better that way. He could be happier this way -

“But I can’t wait,” Adrien said simply as he removed the sweet from its tissue paper bed. Marinette felt her stomach sour as he brought it to his lips, watching in despair as the bubble of her Auradon life started to pop.

“No!” Marinette hiccuped, but it was too late. Adrien chewed on the confection with a bright-eyed expression, looking a bit confused as he turned towards Marinette who was on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Mm…Mm!” Adrien hummed as her chewed. “This is really good.”

“Uh, do you… Do you feel okay?” Marinette was shaking, her fingers twitching in her lap as she tried to fight down the panic of everything coming undone. Would he kick her out of the carriage? Would he have her detained before they even made it to the cathedral steps?

“You bet,” Adrien said simply as he continued to chew.

“Would you say that you’re still in… that…” Marinette was struggling for the words to try and describe what he could be feeling when she felt like she was coming apart at the seams. She couldn’t find it in herself to say the word love, not when she wasn’t comfortable with deciphering if that’s what she was feeling at that moment. “That you have very strong feelings for me?”

Adrien seemed to dwell on this for a moment, looking up at the bright cloud free sky as he swallowed his treat. His lips were pressed together in contemplation before he nodded.

“I’m not sure,” he said simply and Marinette felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest. What she couldn’t imagine was what he would say next. “I mean, let’s give the anti-love potion a few minutes to take effect.”

Marinette in her panic merely nodded in agreement, the realization of what he had just said not having sunk in yet. “Yeah… okay.”

When it finally did hit, it came down like a hammer, the young woman turning on Adrien with a wild look in her eye as the prince had the audacity to start laughing.

“What? What?” Marinette shrieked, unable to control herself as she stared Adrien down with a fire in her gaze. “You knew?”

Adrien managed to control himself enough to look at her with that same lopsided smile that made her heart skip a beat. In that moment, however, Marinette really felt like wringing his neck if he didn’t wipe that smile off his face. “That you spelled me? Yeah. Yeah, I knew.”

“I’m… I can explain myself,” Marinette stated even though deep down, she knew a true explanation was the last thing she could offer to him at that moment for the sake of saving her own life. Adrien, however, didn’t search for an answer from her, merely offering one up of his own.

“No, look, it’s fine,” Adrien said, his voice full of understanding as he once again took her hand. “I mean, you had a crush on me. I was with Chloe. You didn’t trust that it could happen on its own. Am I right?” 

Marinette eagerly took the out. “Yes. You’re so right.”

Adrien smiled at her like that was the end, but she couldn’t help but ask the question that had started to claw at her insides. “So, then, how long have you known?”

“Since our first date,” he said simply, a kind of whimsical look in his eye as he thought back to their picnic. “Your spell washed away in the Enchanted Lake.”

_The Enchanted Lake. I knew that place was spooky_ , Marinette thought to herself as she too became wrapped up in another place and time where she and Adrien were away from the world as it was. It was simply too perfect to not be something magical, especially with such an obvious name like that. Clearly, she needed to pay more attention to these things. Then an even more dark thought clouded over her pleasant memories, one that twisted her face into a grimace as she looked at Adrien in dismay.

“So then what?” Marinette’s voice was hoarse and thick with too much emotion. She had to get a hold of herself, he wasn’t meant to be hers in the first place. Still, that all too curious center of her being longed to know the truth from this boy who had managed to spell her in a way she couldn’t imagine. “You’ve just been… faking it since then?”

Adrien’s expression didn’t falter, nor did his eyes leave hers as he slipped his signet ring from his finger. He gently slid the heavy gold band onto Marinette’s slender pointer finger and the young woman couldn’t have anticipated the way her heart seemed to leap and break all at the same time. He was laying claim to a girl that would, by the end of the day, most likely have him in chains. Still, Adrien didn’t know that. Which made his next words all the more painful to hear.

“I haven’t been faking anything,” Adrien said simply, plainly, and with such devotion that made Marinettes’ head spin.

The carriage had finally made it’s way down the long road and paused at the bottom of the palace steps. Footmen ushered Marinette from the carriage in her daze, the young woman’s gaze never leaving the prince as he disappeared out the other side.

———

The film was grainy, but there was no mistaking her flamboyantly dyed hair. If it was pulled back into a complicated dutch crown braid and intertwined with black onyx that pointed out dangerously from its waves.

“Well, take my hook,” the Captain said in shock beside Hades. “If it isnt-“

“My daughter,” Hades finished for him, sounding just as surprised, but as he watched his daughter descend the steps of the carriage he couldn’t help but be caught off guard. He knew his little marionette was resourceful, but this was an entirely different level of ingenuity. She was wrapped in a dress that shimmered like midnight before fading to electric blue in the train. Her freckled shoulders were exposed to the sun with loose fabric hanging from the shoulders. Onyx and sapphire jewels hung from her neck and ears, glinting in the midday sun. If he didn’t know better, Hades could have sworn he were looking at some stuffy -

“Princess!” Alice exclaimed giddily as she pulled out a card from her jacket pocket. “Now, let’s see who this beauty is wearing.”

The blonde squinted down at the card in momentary confusion before raising the mic back up to her lips. “It looks like she designed it herself with the help of someone named… Nathaniel.”

The Red Queen leapt to her feet, the sudden thump making the couch shake as she jumped excitedly before the television.

“Nathaniel!” She squealed at the mention of her son’s name on TV, flapping her hands before her. “That’s my son, Nathaniel!”

“Oh wow, he helped make a dress,” Hades hissed as he too rose to his feet, his yellowed teeth barred in what could almost pass as a smile. “Meanwhile, my girl duped a prince, and she’s this close to grabbing the magic wand! How’s that for pride and joy!”

“Bitter, party of one. Bitter, party of one!” The Red Queen retorted, her face growing redder with every passing second as she and the immortal stared one another down.

“Will you two cork it!” Gaston barked from the floor where he sat enthralled by the news cast. “I’m trying to watch!”

“Oh, forget about that!” Hades howled as he rushed to the balcony to throw open its glass doors to the dismal day beyond on the Isle. When the wind was right, Hades could smell the sea from that very balcony, and while it often only filled him with only bitter memories of his brother, today it smelled of freedom. He spun on his three companions, a mad look in his eye as his flaming hair went from blue to orange with excitement as he gripped the doors.

“It’s happening, people!” He exclaimed as wicked grins grew on his companions’ faces as they too felt the energy in the air. “Gird your loins because, villains, our revenge begins today!”

There was a roar of agreement and for once, the Red Queen didn’t even care that Gaston had thrown his popcorn in the air. Their freedom would soon be at hand.

———

Marinette gripped Adrien’s hand with a ferociousness that would probably leave bruises as they ascended the cathedral stairs. The weight of onlooker stares, both in person and on the other end of countless cameras, combined with the uneasiness of wearing heels for this made Marinette want to throw up. The only thing keeping her grounded was Adrien’s hand firmly clasped in her own. It was the only reason she hadn’t turned tail and run by the time they reached the cathedral doors where the king and queen awaited them in all their own refinery.

She hadn’t seen either of them since Family Day and while she couldn’t stand a lot of what they still stood for, Marinette couldn’t help but feel bad about how things ended. The queen seemed so kind, and while he was a bit of a stickler, the king was an honorable man. Far more honorable than her own father, she had come to realize. Despite everything that was set in motion for this day, Marinette couldn’t let things go unsaid between herself and Adrien’s parents. When she rose from her curtsy, she kept her head lowered in reverence to the two monarchs.

“Your Majesties, about the other day, I just…” Marinette tried to find the words to say but none would come. She couldn’t regret what her friends did to defend her, she could only regret that they had managed to ruin the afternoon they had been having. Queen Emile had liked Alya’s fish hook jewelry and pirate stories. King Gabriel had praised Nathaniel on his croquet strategy. It had been such a perfect day before everything broke into too many pieces to be fixed.

From where he stood, tall and statuesque beside his son, King Gabriel looked at her over the rims of his glasses. His gray-colored eyes were cold but not severe as he surveyed her, the Isle girl who had bewitched his son. He merely let out a long sigh before looking at his son and heir who stood with his chin up beside her.

“I told Adrien this wasn’t going to be easy,” he started before Adrien gave his father a knowing look.

“You also taught me that a king has to believe in himself. Even when it isn’t easy.”

His rebuttal seemed to catch the older man off guard as he stared at his son owlishly. “I did?”

Emilie, much to Marinette’s surprise, outright elbowed her husband in the ribs, causing the king to grunt some. He cleared his throat, obviously refraining from rubbing at where his wife had hit him.

“Of course, how very wise of me,” the king said as a recovery as the queen reached out to take her son’s hand. Marinette couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the mother and son when she smiled so easily, full of warmth as she appraised Adrien.

“Adrien, we’re so proud of you,” she said in a tone full of sugar and affection that made Marinette’s heart ache. To have a parent tell you they were proud… she was beginning to truly long for what that felt like.

“You keep listening to your heart,” the queen praised, patting Adrien on the cheek.

“Thanks, mom,” Adrien replied, grinning from ear to ear until he looked at his father.

The older man seemed to pause for a moment, considering his son as he stood in full uniform at the precipice of taking the crown from his head. The man sighed before a small smile tugged at his lips, creases forming at the corners.

“You will make a fine king, Adrien,” was all the king said before taking his wife by the hand and leading her off towards one of the cathedral’s side entrances to join the waiting crowd inside. That left only Marinette and Adrien outside the church doors and at the precipice of something Marinette couldn’t help but feel terrified about. It was a lot, what was going to happen to this beautiful boy, and she couldn’t let him go just yet. Not without getting something out of her system.

“Adrien, I -“ she started, only to be silenced by a soft kiss pressed to the back of her hand where the ring sat on her finger. He appraised her with those spring colored eyes and suddenly she lost all thoughts of what she was going to tell him.

“Wish me luck,” he whispered to her before she felt a tug on her other hand. An usher had come to whisk her away to her own seat at the front of the crowd to watch the world change. She blindly followed after the faceless man, never taking her eyes off of the prince until he disappeared from sight, left to face what came next on his own.

The cathedral’s large front doors opened and with the gong of the tower bell, the ceremony began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Chapter 18 already? We officially have THREE CHAPTERS LEFT until we're done!! Can you believe it?? 
> 
> Stuff is getting real now guys - it's time for the CORONATION. DUN DUN DUN.


	22. Chapter 19

Stained glass glowed down onto the cathedral transepts where Auradon Prep students gathered in wait for Adrien to appear through the front doors. Those with greater family connections or the money to pay for it were standing down in the nave, murmuring excitedly to one another. The Isle teens didn’t feel as chatty from where they stood in the wings, rows in front of the choir on the transepts.

Nathaniel was the only one willing to speak up, rubbing nervously at the the little gold hearts that composed the cufflinks to his dress coat. “Do you… think we’re doing the right thing?”

Where Kim would normally jump him in his moment of weakness, the broader young man stood stoically on Alya’s other side, his gaze glued squarely onto the people down below.

“We’re doing what we have to,” he said in a somber tone, watching several of his tourney friends down below with their parents. “They… they won’t be happy if we don’t.”

“Not to mention, this is what they deserve. We’re doing the right thing by going through with this,” Alya added, though the words didn’t have the bite they should have and Nathaniel couldn’t help but notice how pained her expression was. It was only later that he would realize it was because she was looking at Nino.

From just above, the chorus began to sing as the would-be-king made his grand entrance.

The large sanctuary doors were pulled open by the footmen, light pouring in from the outside. Adrien’s figure cast a long shadow down the center aisle from where he was framed in sunlight, every head craned towards him. The prince did a slow march down the carpet, his gaze set unwaveringly on where his parents, Fairy Godmother and the spell jar waited on the dais.

As he passed, people bowed like the wave to the shore, heads dipped in reverence to Adrien. When it came time for Marinette to do the same, she tried to hide the way her heart squeezed in her chest when he glanced at her, having the audacity to wink in her direction. It was so adorably silly, so totally Adrien… and she was about to ruin the day his life had been leading towards. Somewhere in her head a voice sounding like her father’s warned not to blow it. This was their only shot.

From up on the dais, the Fairy Godmother hugged Emile close before bowing to Gabriel. He in turn dipped his head towards her, allowing the shorter woman to remove the golden crown from where it sat on his noble head. She turned, crown lifted high in the air before placing it on a velvet pillow alongside the spell jar. In one swift motion, she removed the spell jar from where it sat, leaving the wand floating free and dangerously within reach for Marinette. Still, she couldn’t feel the familiar itch in her fingers to simply reach out and take it.

The Fairy Godmother held out the wand high into the air, its glowing form hovering above where Adrien had come to kneel on the steps below. The choir stopped in their praising, the cathedral growing eerily silent as Fairy Godmother recited the oath to Adrien. Marinette thought it sounded more like a death sentence being handed down.

_This was what I wanted_ , she had to tell herself over and over despite it sounding less convincing each time she repeated it. _This was what I wanted… right?_

“Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?” Fairy Godmother’s voice carried through the space with bright clarity, her eyes shining as she appraised the young man before her.

“I do solemnly swear,” Adrien answered without hesitation, confidence etched into every line on his face and how he held his chin high.

Marinette felt her stomach turn as she watched Fairy Godmother smile kindly down on Adrien, the tip of her wand alighting on both of her shoulders as she dubbed him.

“Then it is my honor and my joy,” she said with that same motherly gaze fixed on the young prince, “To bless our new king.”

The opportunity would soon be gone if Marinette didn’t act now, locked behind the secure walls of the museum once more. She couldn’t waste this, she knew the eyes of the Isle were on her -

_Just grab it already!_

The wand was plucked from Fairy Godmother’s hand.

The crowd screamed as the wand was waved wildly through the air, the mark of someone uneducated in how to wield it. Magic sputtered forth from the wand tip, the magic beam shooting out and through the cathedral roof, a missile heading straight for its target - the Isle of the Lost.

———

The whole island shook around them as the barrier started to fall. Pictures fell from the wall, items went toppling off the shelves as books clattered to the carpet from their shelves. The villains tried to stand, only to go tumbling to the ground themselves. Hades stumbled towards the balcony, clinging to the railing as he watched Fairy Godmother's magic arc and scatter across the magic barrier over the island. It wasn’t long before the invisible dome that had kept them confined to their island disappeared.

Hades took a deep breath, feeling as if it were the first he had taken in eons. His whole body tingled as a familiar electricity ran through his body, pumping through his veins and making his fingers twitch. It was as if a missing part of him had finally been returned. He had his magic back.

“The barrier is broken!” Captain Hook had finally made his way outside, his eyes fixed hungrily on the sea beyond the Isle docks as waves crested and broke in the bay. “We’re free!”

“So let’s get this party started!” Hades howled with laughter. Flames suddenly erupted from the ground around his body in a column of fire. When the smoke had finally cleared from the balcony, all that was left of the god of death was a blast mark on the stone.

Hades had finally escaped.

———

Magic sparked dangerously from the tip of the wand as Sabrina vied to keep it under her control as it jerked and tugged in her white-knuckle grip. Marinette was taken aback at the sight, shocked that someone had managed to go through with what she herself could not.

“Child, what are you doing?” Fairy Godmother shrieked at her daughter from the dais steps, almost cowering away from where her daughter wielded her wand.

“If you won’t make me beautiful, I’ll do it myself!” Sabrina shrieked as she fought for control. Marinette couldn’t help the guilt that had set into the pit of her stomach. She had put that thought in Sabrina’s head and now it had come back to bite her.

As Sabrina tried to cast a spell upon herself, Adrien came to stand in front of Marinette, unknowingly shielding the girl who had set this in motion. Gabriel had moved to do the same, standing with his arms out in front of the Fairy Godmother and his wife to take any blow that came their way.

“Take cover!” He roared, his voice taking on a predatory growl. All around the cathedral, royals and students ducked. Only Marinette’s friends were left standing as they moved to the end of their aisle towards the transept stairs.

Marinette sidestepped Adrien, trying to ignore the way his fingers brushed against her shoulder as she stepped past to try and bring her back.

“Marinette -!” His voice was strained, full of fear as the young woman stepped up and grabbed the wand.

“Careful, Marinette!” Emilie cried as Sabrina and Marinette pulled against one another to try and gain purchase on the wand. In the end, it was Marinette who proved to be stronger. With the wand raised high above her head, Marinette panted, staring Sabrina down in challenge to see if she would try and take it back. When the Auradon girl fled like a scared mouse, Marinette lowered it some, but not enough to relieve the tension that had built up in the cathedral like a powder keg waiting to blow. Royals curled into one another, families cowered in the shadows of the transepts, all eyes glued to where the Isle teen held the magic wand.

Adrien approached her like she was a wild animal ready to pounce, moving to stand between Marinette and his parents with his arms held out.

“Marinette…” His voice was soft and even, but Marinette could tell he was nervous. He was scared of her and something about that just made Merinette’s hand grip the wand tighter. He said he loved her, proclaimed how much he adored her, and all of that seemed like nothing now that Marinette held the power they had kept from her people for so long. “Give me the wand.”

“Stand back,” Marinette told him, her timid voice betraying her. She didn’t want him to get hurt, she didn’t want to use the wand on this beautiful boy no matter how threatened she might have felt. Behind her, the cathedral doors were pushed open once more, but instead of a prince, it was her friends who came running down the carpeted sanctuary towards her. Adrien’s gaze didn’t look at them though, he only looked at Marinette as he slowly approached her, closing the distance between them.

“Marinette, it’s okay,” he assured. Marinette wanted to believe it, wanted to believe that everything would truly be okay after all this, but she knew deep down that this was a lie. There would be no going back from this.

“Adrien, I said stay back!” Marinette yelled at him as tears threatened to flow down her cheeks. She was breaking and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could pretend she wasn’t.

From the crowd, Chloe stepped forward, her lips pulled back in a snarl as she confronted the Isle girl and her posse.

“I told you so! It was ridiculous to think they would ever change!” The Auradon girl seethed, only to be pulled back into the crowd by Wayhem when Marinette turned the wand on her.

Her friends sensed that their opportunity to leave was closing. If they didn’t leave then, the soldiers would come and they’d never leave Auradon.

“Let’s go,” Nathaniel hissed, tugging Marinette’s free hand towards the doors.

“Revenge time,” Kim muttered, though he didn’t seem quick to move from where he stood. Marinette couldn’t find it in herself to leave either. She was stuck where she stood, anchored there by Adrien’s gaze.

“Do you really want to do this?” Adrien asked, a painful ache echoing in his voice. It broke Marinette’s heart.

“We have no choice, Adrien!” Marinette countered, her body shaking with her sobs. “Our parents - “

“Your parents made their choice!” Adrien emphasized as he cut her off. “Now you make yours.”

Something in his conviction made Marinette pause, sending her back to a better time, a time spent beside a lake on a blanket surrounded by strawberries.

_We’re not automatically like them_. Adrien had sounded so sure then when he had said that to her. _We choose who we’re gonna be. And right now, I can look into your eyes and I can tell you’re not evil._

She may have been born on the Isle, but that didn’t mean she was evil. That’s what Adrien’s proclamation had been about in the first place. He wanted to give them their chance in the sun and to see they could be who they wanted to be. They didn’t have to be their parents.

She looked at the king and queen where they stood huddled together, the Fairy Godmother staring the young girl down from where she stood with them. But it wasn’t a gaze full of anger, of hate because of what she had been born as. She also didn’t look fearful as the other royals did in their cowering. Instead, Fairy Godmother looked oddly hopeful as she considered the frightened teen standing with a wand in her hand. This woman, who had no reason to believe in her, managed to look on Marinette with hope.

Marinette’s hand shook as it held the wand and she felt it lower on its own accord to where her hand was now level with her shoulder. This seemed to set Adrien at ease as he too lowered his arms, looking at Marinette with a silent plea.

Marinette’s lip quivered as she looked back at her friends, and instead of looking angry at her indecision, she saw fear in their eyes. Alya nodded her head unspoken support. That was all the encouragement she needed in that moment as she looked back at Adrien.

“I think I want to be good,” she whispered, afraid that if she dared to speak her inner hope out loud, she’d be struck down for going against the grain.

“You are good,” Adrien affirmed, but Marinette couldn’t get it out of her head that he was just spouting words for her to give up the wand.

“How do you know that?” Marinette screamed at him, and while others jumped, Adrien stood firm.

“Because…” He started, searching for the right words to say as he placed a hand over where his heart beat beneath his jacket. “Because I’m listening to my heart.”

_I can tell you’re not evil. I can see it._

The wand lowered even more, her arm falling limply to her side. Tears leaked and ran down her cheeks as she considered this amazing prince who was determined to not only change the world, but change her view of herself along with it.

“I want to listen to my heart too,” Marinette whispered, and she saw Adrien’s mouth quirk into a slight smile as his shoulders relaxed.

Marinette was tired. Tired of pretending. Tired of doing what she was told when all she wanted was to stay in Auradon, safe with her friends and Adrien by her side. She turned to her friends and she could see in their faces that they were just as tired as she was. It was time to end all of this, once and for all.

“My heart is telling me that we are not our parents,” Marinette said definitively. She looked at Kim, standing stoically behind Alya, his usual bravado and cockiness drained out of him. “Hunting and shooting doesn’t make you happy. Tourney and victory pizza with your team makes you happy.”

From somewhere in the crowd, one or two tourney players howled, making Kim lower his head with a breathy laugh despite the sadness that lingered in his eyes. Marinette looked at Nathaniel who still held on to one of her hands like it was a lifeline in all of this. Marinette gave it a firm squeeze.

“Petting Plagg makes you happy,” Marinette said, letting out a watery laugh. “Who would’ve thought?”

Nathaniel smiled and nodded, no doubt thinking about the furry creature who had been so devoted to him since they first interacted. That left only Alya.

She looked at her best friend in all her refinery. Alya looked amazing. Auradon looked good on her best friend and Marinette knew she couldn’t rip it away from her because of their parents’ insisting.

“Alya…” Marinette tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she considered the young pirate. “You’re so smart. You don’t need to steal or con your way through the world and I think this semester has proved that.”

Marinette looked at where Nino stood at the front of the crowd, not cowering away like everyone else had done before them. Marinette managed a small smile, looking from the Auradon boy to her best friend. “And you deserve to be happy.” 

Alya laughed some herself, the tears falling freely from her own eyes and leaving tracks down her face. Marinette could only help that Alya believed it herself.

The Isle teen craned her head towards the heavens, closing her eyes as she cried out to the cathedral’s arched beams. “And I don’t want to take over the world with evil! It doesn’t make me happy.”

Marinette heard the Fairy Godmother gasp at her proclamation. She had to give the older woman credit. Turns out, Remedial Goodness did its job.

“I want to stay here. I want to keep learning,” Marinette continued before turning to Adrien, the one who truly started it all. Neither of them had started this journey with the expectation that it would lead them both here, but Marinette couldn’t have been more thankful that it had. She was glad that it had led her to him.

“And I want to be with Adrien,” Marinette said openly, making Adrien’s eyes go wide in shock. She hadn’t been open with her affection, hadn’t really wanted anything from him beside for him to hold her head, while Adrien had been open from the start. Marinette was hoping she could make up for that in time. She let go of Nathaniel’s hand, holding her own up to Adrien to show the ring he had put on her finger before the ceremony had started, a mark that he wanted her to be his. “Because Adrien makes me really happy.”

Adrien broke into a grin, that same lopsided imperfect smile that made Marinette’s heart skip and leap in her chest, warming her from the inside out. Still, she couldn’t stop there as she turned back towards her friends who had stood by her long before they came to Auradon.

“Us being friends makes me really happy,” Marinette declared. “Not destroying things.”

She held out a fist towards them, a confirmation of her own conviction. “I choose good, you guys.”

Fairy Godmother gasped in surprised again at her declaration of choosing good over evil. But when her three friends didn’t immediately echo her sentiment, Marinette started to panic. Surely they couldn’t still want to go through with this after all that?

Kim defied her thoughts, however, as he too bumped his fist against hers. “I choose good too.”

Alya added her fist to their two, wiping at the tears that dripped off her chin. “I choose good.”

Three sets of eyes turned on Nathaniel as he stood staring at where their hands were bumped together. He looked at his friends with wide, aqua-colored eyes.

“So, just to be clear,” Nathaniel started, “we don’t have to be worried about how really mad out parents will be? Because they’re gonna be really, really mad.”

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh at the sentiment as Adrien spoke up to set Nathaniel’s mind at ease.

“Your parents can’t reach you here,” He told them firmly. Marinette couldn’t help but think that it sounded more like Adrien wouldn’t allow their parents to reach them there. Not after this.

Nathaniel nodded as Adrien’s words sunk in before bumping his own fist against Marinette’s, Alya’s and Kim’s. “Okay then. I choose good too.”

The teens laughed some, Marinette feeling lighter than she had in a long time, relief overwhelming her like sinking into a warm bath. Kim nodded towards where Adrien stood alone just beyond their circle. Marinette stepped to the side, making room for him in their oath with a nod. “Come on.”

Adrien didn’t hesitate to step in, putting one hand in to fist bump his friends while the other arm came up to curl around Marinette’s waist. She leaned her head into his shoulder, feeling safer than she ever had in her life. The crowd erupted into unabashed cheering as the threat that once loomed over their heads dissipated. Things were looking up.

Until the smell of charcoal and brimstone filled the cathedral.

The shadows of the crowd shifted and quaked of their own accord as the temperature in the room dropped. Marinette couldn’t help but shake. She knew far too well what that meant, and judging by the way her friends seemed to pale, Marinette knew they had the same idea.

At the front of the dais, a column of blue flames erupted, climbing from the floor to the cathedral ceiling in a swirling vortex. It was Marinette’s turn to stand in front of Adrien, stepping between him and the evil that she knew awaited them at the center at that firestorm.

As the flames died, a familiar figure stood on a scorch mark in the marble floors, his arms spread wide like a performer after a trick. Somewhere in the crowd screamed at the sight of the god of death, but Hades didn’t seem to mind. Judging by the large grin on his face, he was having the time of his life. With a flamboyant spin, Hades fixed his brimstone-colored eyes on Fairy Godmother as she stood frozen in place at the sight of him.

“I’m back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE SO CLOSE TO THE END. 
> 
> You want some emotional confessions and confused teens? Thats this right here. Lot and lots of confusion and panic.
> 
> We have one more chapter then the epilogue my dudes so BUCKLE UP cause it ends NEXT WEDNESDAY.


	23. Chapter 20

Hades was no longer dressed in his heavy coat and black pants. Instead, he was wearing his classic slate-colored toga that swirled smoke around his feet and spilled down the dais steps. His blue-flamed hair flickered and snapped while his yellowed eyes scanned the shocked crowd. Fairy Godmother clasped her hands to her mouth in disbelief.

“It can’t be…” Fairy Godmother whispered. While others cowered though, Marinette just looked annoyed as she stood before her father.

“Go away, Papa,” Marinette groaned. She should have expected this from the bolt of magic Sabrina managed to fire off before Marinette snatched the wand away from her. So much for their parents not being able to reach them.

Hades laughed, the sound hard like gravel in a blender as he floated down the steps towards his daughter. “She’s funny! Oh… you’re very funny, little marionette.”

He held out his bony hand towards her with an impatient snap.

“Here,” he commanded. “Wand me. Chop chop.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed. She had just gotten everything back in place for herself and her friends, and no way would she let her father step in to ruin it now. She had a firm grip on Fairy Godmother’s wand, and with the swing of her arm, it went flying back towards Fairy Godmother and over her father’s head.

“No!” He exclaimed, the flames on his head spitting and crackling with anger as the wand returned to Fairy Godmother’s expert hands. She waved the wand before the god of death, her brow furrowed in concentration.

“Bibbidi-bobbidi-“ she started, but the final word to the incantation was never said.

“Boo!” Hades interrupted, and with the snap of his fingers the world stopped where it was, Fairy Godmother’s wand mid swing, the crowd mid scramble. Marinette turned to see that Adrien had gone still, his lips curled back mid-snarl like he was just about to leap at Hades. She rested a hand against his cheek. He was warm but didn’t move. Around her, Kim, Nathaniel and Alya seemed to be the only ones beside Marinette who weren’t affected by Hades’ magic. The Isle teen had a feeling that was his intention, to get them away from friends and from support and leave them cowering before him. Little did he know that Marinette had no intention of ever doing that again.

From where he stood, Hades cackled again, as if this were all some hilarious joke instead of peoples’ lives being decimated. He strolled about the aisle before ascending the steps once more to circle Gabriel with a sneer.

“Ooh, well aren’t you menacing, you big ol’ beastie,” the immortal snickered as he shoved Gabriel’s glasses up into his hair, making sure to muss it up as badly as possible before moving on to Fairy Godmother.

“I’ll take that, thanks, FG,” Hades crooned, plucking the wand easily and twirling it between nimble fingers as he considered the fairy. He paused before promptly sticking the point of the wand into the tip of Fairy Godmother’s nose. “Someone needs to pluck their nose hairs.”

Hades chuckled at his own joke before floating to stand before Fairy Godmother, his glowing eyes fixated on his daughter and her friends.

“Now,” he said as he held the wand between his thumb and middle finger. “Where shall we begin? I know! Why don’t we start by getting rid of this.”

He pointed the wand at Marinette, and with a vicious invisible tug, Adrien’s ring flew from her finger and onto the wand. Marinette gasped, gripping at where the ring once sat and feeling like her father had shoved a knife through her heart instead. She let out an involuntary sob as he father cackled.

“Perfect fit!” He shrieked with glee before descending down the stairs once more to stand before the young frozen king. With the flick of his wrist, Hades made the crown sit askew on Adrien’s head. “Falling in love is weak… and ridiculous.”

He turned his cold gaze on his daughter, one that used to make her cower but now only made her blood boil. “It’s not what you want.”

“You don’t know what I want!” Her tone made her friends jump and even caused Hades to blink in mild surprise. Never before had Marinette mustered up the courage to talk back to her father, but now was a good a time as any. Marinette pressed her lips together as her eyes narrowed in on him, blue meeting yellow.

“Papa, have you ever once asked me what I want?” Marinette inquired of the immortal. “I’m not you!”

“Oh, obviously,” Hades told her casually. “I’ve had eons of practice at being evil, little marionette. You’ll get there in a few hundred.”

“No, I will not,” Marinette retorted, and she could tell by the way her father’s eyebrow started to twitch involuntarily that he was getting tired of her talking back. Marinette was on a roll now though, and being silent was one thing she was not going to do. “And I really wish you had never gotten there yourself.”

She turned to Adrien, her lip quivering as she touched his frozen arm. She steeled herself against crying for him, not wanting to give her father the satisfaction of watching her break down.

“Love is not weak or ridiculous,” Marinette told him, her voice full of conviction. “It’s actually really amazing.”

Marinette saw Alya smile from where she stood tall with Kim and Nathaniel. She was glad her friends were there, knowing that if she had to face her father alone, she’d crumble easily. They were there to support her, as they always had been, only this time, it was for the right reasons.

Hades scoffed, not taking Marinette seriously in the slightest. He pointed the wand at his daughter like an accusatory finger.

“I know one thing, young lady,” he said with a voice so cold it made Marinette shiver. “You have no room for love in your life.”

It was happening again. First, he sent her away to Auradon. Then, he told her to get the wand, not caring what happened to her so long as he got what he wanted. He was still trying to dictate the ins and outs of her life, and Marinette would have no more of it. She was going to be the one giving orders now, starting with taking the wand out of her father’s hand.

“And now I command, wand to my hand!” Marinette said to him, extending a hand out towards her father as magic rushed up to her fingertips as it had countless times before. Blue energy sparked dangerously around the wand as Marinette’s magic tried to wrestle the wand out of Hades’ grip. He tugged and pulled, the muscles in his arms straining to keep the wand within his grasp only to have it wrenched away. The wand flew back into Marinette’s hand, and she couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh. Alya grabbed her shoulder with a grin as Kim howled with glee.

“Ha! It worked!” Marinette exclaimed, though her joy was short -ived when she saw the way her father’s face had twisted into a grimace, flames licking at his shoulders now and spitting angrily.

“Maybe good really is more powerful than evil,” Nathaniel said breathlessly as Kim threw an arm around his shoulder grinning.

“You better believe it is!”

“I hardly think so,” Hades growled as he started to pace back and forth, looking more and more like a caged animal. “Frankly, this is tedious and very immature. Give me the wand, give me the wand!”

Marinette felt the way her father’s outstretched hand started to heat the air around it. She threw her arms out in front of her friends.

“Duck!” She exclaimed before a column of blue fire blasted forth from her father’s palm, scorching the cathedral aisle carpet. As the smoke cleared, there was a familiar yowl of anger from farther down towards the cathedral doors. Marinette saw a black blur fly past, and before she knew it, Plagg was hissing and scratching at her father’s face.

“Plagg? Really? I told you to leave him in the room!” Kim hissed as Nathaniel turned sheepish.

“He gets lonely!”

As Plagg howled and bit at Hades’ face, the immortal struggled to pull him off as the cat’s claws got caught in his toga.

“Hey, watch the face, you mangy fur ball!” Hades hissed before throwing Plagg halfway down the aisle towards the doors. Nathaniel didn’t hesitate to scramble after his furry friend, crouching over his weakly mewling form.

“Oh ,Plagg…” Nathaniel said, sounding broken hearted as he drew the cat to his chest.

Kim watched the scene unfold, and Marinette could see the way his jaw tightened at his friend’s sorrow. He roared, turning to leap at Hades who met him head on, catching Kim’s enclosed fist in his hand. Marinette tried not to cringe at the way her father examined Kim’s arm muscles.

“Your father should be jealous,” was all he said before flicking Kim in the forehead, the force of which sent the Isle teen careening through the air before landing spread eagle on the cathedral floor.

“Kim!” Marinette screamed as her father climbed the dais steps once more.

“You talk back to me. You disobey me,” Hades seethed as the flames on his head arced higher and higher into the air. “You’re going to regret this, my little marionette!”

“Run!” Marinette screamed as her father shot bolt after bolt of blue fire at her and her friends as they ran for cover behind the transept columns, Alya and Marinette behind one, Kim, Nathaniel and Plagg behind another. Flames hissed and licked at the columns, scorching the marble as Marinette prayed that her father would grow tired and just leave them alone.

“You got a plan, girl?” Alya yelled over the roar of the flames.

“No, but I have some ideas! Most of them though involve me being close to him, which doesn’t seem too smart at the moment!” Marinette told her as her mind raced a mile a minute. How could they get out of this?

“Then get ready to put one into action!” Alya bent down and raised the hem of her dress, fumbling a bit before producing a glowing bronze blade from a sheath on her calf.

“I thought I told you no weapons at the coronation!” Marinette hissed at her as Alya twirled the serrated knife in her hand.

“Since when have I ever listened to you?” Alya retorted before gripping the hilt between her thumb and pointer finger like she was getting ready to throw it. “Get ready guys!”

Alya backed as far away from the column as the flames would allow her. Marinette watched in awe as Alya reared back her arm before throwing the knife with expert aim. There was a howl of pain and Marinette knew that Alya had hit her mark as the flames stopped.

“That’ll just stun him,” Alya explained, grabbing at Marinette’s wand-free hand and motioning for the boys to follow. “Here’s hoping your plan works!”

Alya pulled her friend back towards the center aisle as Hades staggered some on the dais. There was a knife embedded in his shoulder, just high enough to miss his heart. The immortal hissed as he pulled the blade from his body, his eyes glowing with fury as he turned on Alya.

“Celestial bronze, aye girl?” Hades hissed as he threw the blade aside, the knife bouncing down the steps towards where the teens stood.

“Father had it made before the barrier went up,” Alya sneered, looking all too proud of herself. Not many people could say they managed to draw blood from a god. Those who did didn’t often live long enough to tell about it. “He always said you were as smelly as a scabby sea bass and wanted some protection!”

“You rotten pirate! You’ll burn for this!” Hades roared before he prepared for another blast of fire. Marinette was quicker though as she raised her hand towards her injured father.

“This is between you and me, Papa!” Marinette growled as her eyes glowed bright blue, magic pulsing through her veins as she stared down the god of death. His own eyes started to glow, and within seconds, she was under attack by a barrage of commands.

_Be quiet. Fall back in line. Be a good little marionette doll. Don’t disobey your father._

Marinette reeled as her father’s will threatened to overwhelm her own. She wasn’t sure if she could withstand his orders when arms wrapped around her from behind. It was Alya, hugging her and pressing her forehead into her best friend’s shoulder.

“You can do it, girl,” Alya said. Marinette felt Nathaniel and Kim’s hands grip her other arm.

“We believe in you, Marinette,” Nathaniel assured, putting his head on Marinette’s other shoulder and squeezing her arm.

“Behind you all the way,” Kim vowed from behind, and Marinette knew from his tone that Kim wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Her friends were with her. Her real family was with her. She couldn’t let them down.

“The strength of evil is good as none,” Marinette chanted against her father’s power as their wills clashed against one another. “When stands before four hearts as one.”

“The strength of evil is good as none when stands before four hearts as one.”

_I can look into your eyes and see you’re not evil._

“The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before four hearts as one!” Marinette declared before the air left the room. The flames on Hades’ head suddenly went out and the god of death looked stupefied as his form melted away, leaving a bright little blue flame surrounding a heart sitting on the dais.

Marinette fell back into her friends’ arms, out of breath and out of magic as her mind reeled at what she had just accomplished. She had faced her father down and, for once, she had been the victor. Alya shrieked with glee, still holding fast to her best friend as Kim lifted Nathaniel, Alya, and Marinette up in his arms, spinning them around victoriously.

“You did it!” Alya laughed as Kim set them all down, Marinette still a bit shaky on her legs.

“We did it,” Marinette amended as one of the frozen figures started to move.

“Oh!” Fairy Godmother exclaimed as she saw the little blue fire demon arch and hiss at her from where he now sat. “Well. isn’t that curious!”

“Did I do that?” Marinette asked as she and her friends stumbled towards the older fairy, their clothes scorched and smelling like a campfire.

“No, no, no, no,” Fairy Godmother said hurriedly as she gestured to the little blue flame with narrowed yellow eyes. “Your father did. When he lost, he shrank to the size of the love in his heart. That’s why it’s so… itty-bitty.”

Marinette tried not to dwell on the fact that her father had so little love in his heart, or what that meant in how he regarded her. She pushed her shoulders back, not bothering to look at the little fire demon.

“Is he going to be like that forever?” She asked, part of her not actually wanting to know the answer.

Fairy Godmother regarded her with a soft smile, full of motherly affection as she regarded the VK’s. “Forever is a long time. You learned to love. So can he.”

Marinette nodded, trying to see it from the ever-positive Fairy Godmother’s point of view. She learned to love, that meant there could be hope for her father. She’d have to stew on that later.

She held the wand out to its rightful owner, balancing it between her two hands. “I believe this belongs to you.”

Fairy Godmother smiled as she bowed her head to Marinette, taking the wand from her hands and holding it in her own. She bent down and plucked a ring from the scorched carpet. She folded Adrien’s ring into Marinette’s hand, the young girl holding it close to her heart.

“And I believe this belongs to you,” Fairy Godmother said before looking at all four of them collectively. “You have all earned yourselves an ‘A’ in goodness class. I’m so proud of you.”

Marinette couldn’t help but feel good at her praise. Good. She could get used to it.

Fairy Godmother waved her wand through the air, golding magic trailing behind the wand tip. “Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!”

The crowds sprang to life as people crashed into one another as movement was restored. Both Adrien and his father howled angrily, still vying for an attack even though the danger had passed. Marinette pressed her hands into Adrien’s chest, stopping him mid-charge with a laugh as Adrien looked her over, examining her for harm as he pressed a hand onto her cheek.

“It’s okay!” Marinette assured him, pressing her cheek into his hand and relishing in his warm touch. He was okay. Her father couldn’t hurt him now. “We kinda got this all wrapped up here.”

Adrien blinked, growing still for only a moment before he grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist and sweeping her off her feet as he spun her around, laughing wildly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing along with him at the sheer incredulity of it all. A prince who loved her, no fear of reproach from her father and safety wrapped around her like a blanket.

When her feet finally hit the ground once more, Adrien pressed his forehead against hers, smiling as he considered the girl in his arms. “Next time, I rescue you, okay?”

Marinette laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “Let’s not let there be a next time, okay?”

“Deal.”

She reached up and tilted his crown on his head with a crooked grin as Adrien laughed. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Fairy Godmother standing with her daughter, Sabrina looking thoroughly despondent under her mother’s firm gaze. Marinette squeezed Adrien’s shoulder, stepping out of the circle of his arms. “I’ll be right back.”

As Marinette approached, she could hear Fairy godmother reprimanding Sabrina.

“I love you,” Fairy Godmother said in a stern tone, holding her daughter’s hand. “But you are in a major time-out.”

Marinette put a hand on Fairy Godmother’s shoulder, pausing the conversation as she considered Sabrina. “Don’t be too hard on Sabrina. I was the one who put all that crazy stuff in her head, and I regret it.”

Marinette reached out and gave Sabrina’s hand a hard squeeze, looking at her with conviction. “You are beautiful… Inside and out. Your mom got that right.”

Sabrina smiled at Marinette before looking at her mother who smiled kindly at her daughter. “I guess I did get pretty lucky in the mother department.”

“You sure did,” Marinette confirmed, trying not to think about her father and his current state. She turned to see a footman approaching the hissing fire demon with Beast’s spell jar as if he were about to swat at a pesky bug. The footman slammed the spell jar over Hades’ small form, Marinette reaching out to place a hand on the jar.

“Hey! Careful!” Marinette said as the footman blinked up at her. “That’s my father.”

The footman looked panicked until Marinette laughed and waved him away, her smile setting him at ease as he bowed before skittering away. She gave the spell jar a gentle pat, the fire demon within spitting and hissing some.

“Be good, Dad,” Marinette muttered to it before walking back to her friends and Adrien who stood arm in arm with one another. Alya readily threw an arm around her shoulder, her opposite hand around Kim’s shoulders. Marinette saw the now cleaned knife held comfortably in her hand. Marinette leaned her head into her friends shoulder.

“You are always allowed to bring knives everywhere we go,” Marinette laughed as Alya turned smug.

“You better believe it, girl,” Alya said with a huff of arrogance in her tone. “Thank the seven seas for my father’s paranoia.”

“Enough sad stuff!” Kim declared, his arms around Nathaniel’s and Adrien’s shoulders. “Let’s get this party started! All hail the king!”

“All hail the king!” The VK’s laughed as Adrien turned pink. The group did an abrupt about face, still arm in arm as they walked down the cathedral aisle and out into the sunshine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I can't believe we're only one chapter away from the end. Can you believe it??? 
> 
> The epilogue goes up on Wednesday and we'll see where we go from there. Again, always grateful for you readers and commenters, your reactions and commentary on the story always brighten my day! 
> 
> See you Wednesday!


	24. Finale

If there was one thing to look forward to after everything the day had thrown at the Villain Kids, none of them thought it would be a party to celebrate the crowning of the young king. The plan had been originally that by night fall Auradon would be on fire. Instead, it was lit up with multicolored firework displays that overlaid the school grounds with color. 

The front green of the school was decorated from head to toe with tablecloth-covered cocktail tables on the edge of a magicked dance floor that pulsed to the beat of the DJ. Spinning the tracks was Nino, still decked out in his green suit jacket and gold pants, grinning as people danced and jumped to the beat he laid down. Food was piled up onto two separate buffets complete with chocolate fountains and anything a student could think of in terms of sweets. Girls had changed into cocktail dresses, boys had shrugged off their coats, and in the middle of it all, the Isle kids were dancing the night away.

Alya was twirled between guy after guy in her blood red dress, dripping with gold in a feathery tule skirt. Her long sleeves were off the shoulder, her gold bracelets and rings flashing in the fairy lights. She danced with Kim and Nath, Nath wearing a solid red suit with dark blue lapels and gold accents while Kim had disregarded his red coat and tie, leaving him in yellow shorts, brown suspenders and a white button down. They were happy among their friends, people openly approaching and laughing instead of hissing and retreating. Finally, they could be truly free.

With a nod from Fairy Godmother, Nino faded the track, spinning the cordless mic in his hands as he brought it to his lips.

“What up, Auradon!” He howled, sending the crowd into a tizzy. “I know you’re having the time of your life, but before we dance the night away, let’s welcome our special guest!”

He turned to the front doors of the school where footmen stood flanking them. Nino gave a flamboyant wave of his arms towards the double doors as spotlights honed in on them.

“Ladies and dudes,” He said in by far the most outrageous announcer voice he could. “I give you the one and only, King Adrien Agreste and the lovely Marinette!”

The crowd paused in expectant silence, eyes glued to the door as the footmen pulled them open. Adrien had dressed down to a normal purple suit instead of an Auradon guard uniform while Marinette hung on his arm, her hair falling loosely around her shoulders. Her glimmering dark blue dress fell to her knees, Adrien’s gold ring still shining on her finger. She squinted in the spotlight, hugging closer to Adrien as he led her down the front steps towards where the party was taking place.

“Just keep walking,” Adrien teased. “And don’t forget to smile and wave.”

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh at the way he then gave the most pretentious wave she had ever seen to their fellow students as they finally came to stand beside the DJ turntables where Nino stood clapping in chorus with the rest of the crowd. Adrien was ridiculous, but at least he was cute and ridiculous.

Nino held out the microphone to Adrien, the crowd crying out for a speech from their newly crowned ruler. Marinette released Adrien’s arm, stepping away to join her friends when the new king took her hand. He pressed a chaste kiss to the back of her hand, winking at the Isle teen before he took the microphone from his best friend. Marinette tried to hide the way her face had gone red as Alya pulled her into a hug. Adrien climbed onto the small stage the DJ set up was on, waving his hand to quiet down the roaring crowd.

“Alright, alright, alright,” Adrien’s voice encouraged as it boomed from the speakers. “Enough clapping, you guys are embarrassing me.”

The crowd laughed while Marinette watched her boyfriend. He was a natural on stage, a natural standing before his people, and she couldn’t be more proud. She was glad she hadn’t been able to take it away from him like her father had wanted. On stage, Adrien cleared his throat, ready to give his first informal speech as King of Auradon.

“Kings and Queens of Auradon,” Adrien started, squaring his shoulders back and looking every bit as royal as he was. “This had been a rollercoaster of a day, from start to finish. This morning, I was a student, and now I’m somehow lucky enough to be your king. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to serve you in such a role.”

Kim let out a loud whoop, making Alya laugh and causing the other tourney players in the crowd to take up the call like howling wolves. Adrien grinned, waiting for them to quiet down before continuing on.

“And my first act as your new king is to extend my gratitude to my friends who made sure that we all lived long enough to see this moment.”

Marinette’s eyes widened when Adrien honed in on where she, Alya, Nathaniel and Kim stood among the crowd. Nathaniel looked nervous under the pressure of eyes turning on them. He wrung his hands, leaning close to Marinette with Alya between them.

“Uh… do you have any idea what he’s doing?” Nathaniel asked and Marinette felt goosebumps prickle at her arms.

“Not in the slightest,” Marinette admitted as Adrien continued.

“When I first made the proclamation of merging our two peoples,” Adrien admitted. “I had my reservations. I was afraid of making people uncomfortable, of well… royally messing up before I ever saw a crown.”

Marinette blinked at his admission. She had never thought of Adrien, handsome, caring and oh so confident, being nervous. It certainly shed some light on their first few days on Auradon where he was constantly checking in on them, asking questions and making sure they had everything they needed.

“But I’m glad I went through with it in spite of my own doubts.” His green eyes were on her now where she stood with her friends. A soft smile touched his lips that made Marinette’s heart swell as she returned the smile. “Because it ended up being the best thing I could have done.”

“An expert athlete, a blue ribbon gardener, a genius student,” Adrien listed off as he gestured to Kim, Nathaniel and Alya who preened under his praises. “And a girl who changed my perspective on what it means to be brave.”

Marinette blushed furiously, tugging at her skirt sheepishly as Alya rubbed her shoulders. She certainly hadn’t been expecting any of that.

“They risked their lives for us, a people who had only been outright contemptuous towards them. Today, they saved us, and I am eternally grateful for that. So, on behalf of all Auradon and the Royal Family, I say thank you.”

Then he bowed, low enough to where Marinette was afraid his new crown would fall off onto the dance floor. Behind him, Nino did the same, and before the Isle teens knew it, the crowd had mirrored the kings position, heads bowed in reverence towards the four people who remained standing straight. Kim shifted uncomfortably, rubbing his hands down his shorts and unsure of what to do. Nathaniel twitched ,and Alya looked at Marinette for any clue at what to do then. Marinette wasn’t entirely sure how to take this either and did what she thought was appropriate, dipping into a curtsy which Alya mirrored. Nathaniel and Kim bowed back to Adrien while they all hoped that the moment would pass. A few seconds later, Adrien straightened, prompting the other students to right themselves to standing positions.

“Now that that is said and done,” Adrien said, grinning at the crowd. “It’s time to take back the night!”

“Ohay, Ohay, hey!” The crowd roared the Auradon cheer as Nino started up the music once more with ferocity as people started moving again. Marinette moved through the pulsating bodies, heading to the DJ podium where Adrien had started descending the steps. Her hand found his immediately, Adrien giving hers a firm squeeze as they moved along the edge of the dance floor.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Marinette mused, her head pressed into his shoulder as they walked slowly past the dancing people. “Thank you for that.”

“I thought you deserved it,” Adrien said immediately before pressing a kiss into the crown of Marinette’s head. “You did something incredible today.”

Marinette leaned into his shoulder, trying not to think about it at all. The little fire demon that was now considered to be her father was burning away on a cherry blossom candle in her room. Her father, in a moment of weakness, had once told her that the smell of cherry blossom reminded him of his first love, Persephone. She hoped it would at least make him somewhat happy.

“I never did get to thank you for the ring,” Marinette said, twisting the signet ring with a smile.

“You saved my life,” Adrien said as they came to a stop on the far side of the dance floor. Alya had pulled Nino down from the DJ stand and was in the middle of teaching him how to two-step. “I’m pretty sure this makes us even.”

“Even what?” A voice said from just behind them. The couple turned, coming face to face with Chloe and Wayhem. Chloe was decked out in a purple and gold cocktail dress and a crown that looked like it was made to match Adrien’s and inlaid with pearls. Wayhem stood just behind her in a white suit, looking uncomfortable as Chloe confronted Marinette. “Even more confused than ever?”

Adrien’s shoulders drooped, and Marinette couldn’t believe the way he seemed to wilt before her eyes. Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about whatever Chloe was alluding too. “Chlo, we talked about this-“

“She spelled you, Adrien! And you think she’s still trustworthy?” Chloe shrieked, more than one or two heads turning their direction from the crowd. Adrien’s gaze hardened some, and Marinette felt the way that his entire form had gone tense.

“Chloe, I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to talk this way,” Adrien said in a warning tone, but Marinette had already taken a few steps forward, releasing her hold on Adrien’s arm. Before he could pull her back out of range of Chloe’s sharp words, the Isle teen had started to speak.

“I understand,” Marinette said plainly, causing even Chloe to do a slight double take at how sincere she sounded. “I interrupted everything you knew and you feel like I’m stepping on your toes. It’s completely understandable that you would be mad at me, Chloe, but just know that whatever happens from here on out is going to be the new normal. I don’t plan on leaving, and I hope you can learn to accept that.”

Marinette curtsied to the princess, low and full of grace. Instead of accepting her courtesy, Chloe merely surpassed a fierce snarl, spinning on her heel to stalk off back towards the dorms.

“Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!” She howled, Wayhem on her heels, trying to curb her temper with placating words. By the time they were out of sight, Marinette felt her shoulders slump the same way Adrien’s had. Guess you can’t win them all by saving them from the god of death.

Adrien slipped an arm around her waist, pressing his nose into her hair. She leaned unconsciously into his touch, indulging in the way he supported her so effortlessly.

“Don’t worry about her,” Adrien murmured. “She’s just… complicated.”

“That’s certainly the diplomatic way of saying that,” Marinette returned, causing Adrien to shake with laughter.

“Good to see I’m living up to my title, then.” He tugged on her waist slightly, pulling her towards the dance floor with a soft look in his eye as the song slowed. “Dance with me?”

Marinette pretended to think about it, tapping her finger to her chin as if she were considering anything but saying yes. The king grinned, tugging her along as she giggled in spite of herself, all thoughts of Chloe left behind as she wrapped her arms around Adrien’s neck.

The music was soft and slow, couples dancing close together and swaying to the beat. Alya had her head on Nino’s shoulder looking more content that Marinette had ever seen. Kim and Kagami were awkwardly trying to lead one another, neither willing to give up control of the dance. Nearby, Nathaniel had coerced Sabrina into a dance, twirling the auburn-haired young lady gracefully out and back into his arms without missing a beat. Her friends were happy, and Marinette had to admit, she wasn’t feeling bad herself.

“Hey,” Adrien said in a low voice, soft enough for only her to hear in the space between them. Their foreheads were pressed together and Marinette swore she could heart how fast her heart was beating over the music. “Do you remember… Do you remember what I told you at the Enchanted Lake?”

He had told her so many things. His middle name was Florian, she didn’t have to be like her father, but she knew which topic in particular he was curious about by the way his cheeks had gone pink.

_Do you love me?_

Marinette unwound her arms from his neck, bringing her hands to hold his face between her palms. He was so warm, so alive compared to the chill that had surrounded her since she was brought into the world. His heart was beating strong, and as far as Marinette was concerned, he was made of pure sunshine. And somehow, by some outrageous miracle, he wanted her love. She rubbed her nose against his, the way she had often seen other students do with someone they cared for. When she pulled inches away, she smiled at how big Adrien’s eyes had gotten.

“I think I’m starting to,” she told him, laughing when he once again swept her off her feet to spin her around.

———

It was well into the night when they found their way up onto the dormitory roof. Gone was the refinery of the earlier party, leaving Marinette, Alya, Kim, and Nathaniel in their pajamas as they laid out on blankets under the stars. Their bodies were tired and aching from the day’s events, but none of them appeared close to sleep. The night breeze was cool on their faces, the heavens all the entertainment they needed as Alya pointed out all the constellations she knew and how they guided people on the sea.

“There’s the north star!” Alya shouted, pointing to one of the brightest stars in the sky from where she laid spread eagle on the rooftop. “Polaris was the first star my father ever taught me.”

Her tone was wistful, full of a yearning that Marinette couldn’t find within herself. Alya had always been close with her father, something Marinette could have said she was jealous of at younger ages. She hoped Alya didn’t regret what they had done.

“I’m looking forward to not being covered in shoe shine,” Kim chipped in, laid back with his arms crossed beneath his head. His eyes were closed, trying to look tough, but Marinette knew it was all bravado. Homesickness didn’t care for whether or not you liked where you came from. In the dark cover of night, Marinette knew Kim would still miss the hunts his father took him on across the Isle.

“I think I’ll miss Father more than anything else,” Nathaniel finally spoke up. He had Plagg curled up asleep on his chest, and the Isle teen’s eyes fluttered open and shut sleepily. “I hope he doesn’t think I’ve abandoned him.”

“He won’t,” Marinette told him as she sat up to get a better look at all three of her friends as they lay there. “Because I think he’ll be happy that you managed to find your own happiness, Nathaniel. I think all of your parents, deep down, will be glad that you managed to escape. That you finally found happiness.”

Alya sat up as well, reaching out to put her hand over Marinette’s, giving it a firm squeeze. Her hazel eyes glowed in the dark, looking at her pale friend with a compassionate gaze.

“I know you don’t think it, girl,” Alya said rubbing Marinette’s forearm comfortingly. “But I think the same can be said about Hades. Even if he’s just proud of the fact that you managed to talk back a little.”

“And if he’s too stupid to be,” Kim spoke up as he too sat up from the roof. His silver-colored eyes flashed in the night, a grin pulling at his cheeks as he pointed to himself with his thumb. “Then I sure am. You kicked his little flame butt back to the underworld, and if anyone tells you otherwise, I’ll kick their butts all they way there with him.”

Marinette snorted at his ridiculousness, her body warming at the notion of having someone finally say they’re proud of her. It eased that tension that she had felt build up in her shoulders over the course of the day since the spell jar was placed over her father’s flickering small form.

Nathaniel slid up beside Marinette, Plagg grumbling some at being moved before grumpily plopping into Marinette’s lap. The black stray was warm and soothing as his breaths evened back out in sleep, his gentle purrs reverberating into her legs. The redheaded Isle teen leaned his head onto Marinette’s shoulder, his eyes still fixed on the night sky above them.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of us,” he said, full of out of the ordinary confidence. “So long as we have each other, right?”

Kim gave Nathaniel’s shoulder a light punch, that same grin pulling at his cheeks. “You got that right, Nath. Nobody’s gonna stop us now.”

“And we’re in this together till the end of the line,” Alya confirmed as she smiled at Marinette who felt a sense of what she could only call peace overwhelm her. There was no building dread of the coming day, no threat of parental backlash now that they were free. She could now say with confidence, for the first times in their lives, that they were safe. She never thought that it would be possible to truly feel that.

Marinette put her arms around Nathaniel and Alya, pulling them close to in a hug. She felt Kim ruffle her hair from behind with a soft chuckle, resting his hand on her head as the Isle teens fell into comfortable silence curled up close to one another.

“I’m glad we’re together,” Marinette whispered to the night like a secret confession. “And no one is ever going to tear us apart.”

“Not unless they want a tourney bat to the face,” Kim added, sending the four of them into a fit of laughter but comforting Marinette nonetheless. The Auradon sky sparkled above the Isle teens, unobstructed by the smog of the Isle. Together they sat until the early morning, watching the stars shift and the sun rise on not only a new day, but on a new life for the four of them in Auradon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY LAST CHAPTER DAY! TIME FOR FEELS. 
> 
> Oof my guys it's been a long road to here. It's been many hours writing, editing and now we're here. Hope you've liked the rollercoaster as much as me and my beta reader have!!
> 
> There are plans in the work for a sequel but they're in the very early stages right now so don't expect a quick turn around, but expect something in the future. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!

**Author's Note:**

> What? Me? Back with another Miraculous Ladybug AU? It's more likely than you think.
> 
> I'd like to thank/blame my roommate for this who only proves to exacerbate my ideas as well as be my beta reader which is a task not many could undertake. 
> 
> I'm gonna update once a week, every Sunday, and once it's all finished (We're still in the process of writing, editing and rewriting) it'll get upped to twice a week. We're looking at over 20 chapters so far guys so... be ready. This is an undertaking of love and screaming that we are giving to you.
> 
> HERE WE GO.


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